Flight of the Stormlark
by Raydiva
Summary: Dr. Fujiama's creation, the Nightbird, is not alone. She was part of a joint venture between multiple corporations across the globe to create a human made defense against the Decepticons. Her 'betrayal' has put her siblings at risk.
1. Sister Unit

Note: I do not own the Transformers or anything connected to them….well except for a few DVD's. So please don't sue me, this is all done in fun. If you are reading my MK fanfics, don't worry I'm still working on it. Just thought a change in subject would be nice and had this story itching my brains for a while now.

**Chapter One: **

Angrily, Art Drake threw the newspaper onto his desk. The picture of Dr. Fugiama's Nightbird covered the front page with the headline, Robot Runs Rampant, in bold black letters above it. He leaned forward and pressed the button on his intercom and said, "Get Dr. Magess as soon as he comes in."

"Yes, Mr. Drake, "said his secretary, "He's here right now, do you wish for me to send him on in?"

"Send him in, "said Drake as he rubbed his forehead, through his long red bangs and leaned back into his chair.

Quietly, the door opened and closed. "I see you've heard the news, "said a middle aged man with a humorless smile.

"Do you have any idea what this will mean to Project: Elements?" growled the red head, "What gave Fujiama the bright idea of revealing her before the entire…"

"I think it might have something to do with money, "said Dr. Magess, "You are aware that even we are running over budget with our contribution to the project, and Dr. Fujiama does not have the cushion that Pendrake Industries has to offer."

"Then he should have talked to…Never mine, what's past is past there is nothing we can do about it now, "Art Drake sighed.

"At least we now know that the basic physical design does work, "offered Magess, "Once we get the AI figured out…"

"No."

"Sir?"

Drake looked directly at Magess and said, "The project is to be placed on hold….indefinitely."

**(Scene Change)**

"Damn it, Racheal, wait up!" yelled Chip Chase, rolling as fast as he could in his wheelchair.

Racheal turned but continued running, now backwards, as she yelled back, "Sorry, Chip, but I gotta catch the bus! Smell ya later!" She then turned and continued to run off.

Chip stopped where he was as he watched the brown haired woman run off with her backpack tightly on. He smiled as he watched his childhood friend jumped onto the bus just before it closed its door. Racheal Magess was a rarity, one of the few people who saw him and not the wheelchair from the get go. It was her that helped him see that he could still do anything he set his mind to and encouraged him to get into computers.

As he watched the bus drive off, he failed to notice a familiar yellow Volkswagen drive up and nearly jumped out of his chair when he heard Bumblebee honk his horn. "You alright, Chip?" the Autobot asked as he opened his door in a way to allow the boy to ride his chair straight in.

"Yeah, just….daydreaming, "answered the boy as he pushed his glasses firmly in place, "So what's up?"

"Repairs, "answered Bumblebee as he drove off, "The never ending list of repairs. Between the Dinobots and the Deceptions they never end, don't forget we still haven't really fixed the damage to Teletran One from when that she-bot, Nightbird, ripped out the energy chip. That's where you come in."

"Cool, "said Chip with a grin, "I always wanted to see the insides of Teletran."

**(Scene Change)**

Racheal dumped her backpack on the workbench and worriedly looked at the female looking robot in the adjoining workroom through a large window. 'Why wasn't there anyone there working on it? 'she thought, 'Normally there would be at least a few techs checking to see if the nanites were still functioning as predicted.'

"I see you noticed, "said Dr. Magess sadly.

"Uncle Merv, what's going on?" she asked.

"Stormlark and the rest of the project has been put on hold due to the Nightbird disaster," the scientist answered as he sat down on a lab chair, "We were so close too."

"What! All we needed was to set the safe guards and then…."

"You know that isn't true. The basic AI has yet to be configured, "he said, "And don't start that theory of using an existing human personality as a base. That would lead to possible insanity in the unit."

"Not if its done right and the right personality is chosen, "answered Rachael but she then sighed, "Not that it matters anymore. So what's going to happen now?"

Dr. Magess stood up and walked over to the window. "As for her, she's going into cold storage for who knows how long. For me….I'll get another project to work on, so don't worry about that. Pendrake Industries never throws away talent like mine….or yours,"he said sadly, "Talking about talent, how that Chase boy doing. Still hanging around those Autobots?"

"Don't try to change the subject, "countered Racheal, "Can I continue to work on the AI and nanite programs? I was kinda hoping to use the work for my graduate project, but if I start a new one now I won't get it done in time."

Merv Magess sighed but smiled as he said, "I'll see if I can get permission for you to use the lab. Like I said, Pendrake does not throw away talent and your work on both the AI and nanite programs is valuable enough without the Stormlark."

**(Scene Change)**

High pitched screams rang through the halls of the Decepticon base, which were ignored by the all white transformers as he sat at the computer, tapping his fingers as he watched the monitor. "Blast that Starscream!" Megatron growled, "One of the best warriors our forces have found in centuries and he goes and shoots her in the back due to some sort of misplaced jealousy."

Soundwave entered the room and in his monotone voice said, "I have received word on Nightbird, master Megatron."

Megatron turned in his seat and ordered, "Well get on with it. What have you learned?"

"She has been placed in storage at Fujiama's Laboratories. There is also four other robots of similar design being created as joint venture between multiple companies, "answered the transformer.

"Excellent, "Megatron leaned back in the chair and steepled his fingers as he said, "Find out what you can about the security around Nightbird and find out about the other robots as well. With some modification, they will most likely make fine Decepticons. They can't be any worse than that fool, Starscream."

Another high pitched, pain fill scream rang out.

**(Scene Change)**

Late that night, Rachael stretched as she looked at the clock. "Crap!" she said when she saw the time was well past mid-night, "Guess I'm sleeping here tonight." She reached over and picked up the phone to call home, so that her Uncle wouldn't worry. A few rings and the answering machine picked up, as the monologue of leaving a message started a slight crash was heard. "What the…."said Rachael as she walked off to investigate, leaving the phone lying on the desk. From the phone, a slight 'beep' could be heard. She turned on the bright overhead lights just in time to see a large robotic bird heading right to her. Rachael dived to the ground and crawled under one of the heavy worktables. Laserbreak screamed as he tried to get to the human. The bird fired one of his lasers knocking the heavy table away. Rachael rolled and then ran to door that wasn't blocked. 

Running down stairs, she covered her head in a vain attempt to protect herself from the shattering glass as Laserbeak crashed through the large window. She fell over the railing and was saved by a pile of empty, cardboard boxes. Racheal ran to hide behind one of the lifts as she complained silently to herself, 'Why haven't those damn alarms gone off?' 

Laserbeak now ignored the human as it flew towards the same as complete robot, being held up by a framework of clamps. Seeing this, the girl realized that it was the Stormlark it was interested in. Rachael ran to one of the mobile lifts' controls. Turning it on, once again claiming the cassettes' attention. The robotic bird turned, to find itself being slammed along side the head by one of the lifts and then thrown into one of the walls. Right when it crashed the labs alarms went off. "Now they go off, "the girl hissed as she fought the controls to try again to slam Laserbead as he rose into the air.

"Arrrrrk!" Laserbeak sounded as human guards ran into the lab and started firing their energy rifles. He turned to face the wall and fired off one of his missiles and as the wall started to collapse, he flew off into the night through the opening.

About thirty minutes later in a company break room, Rachael sat on a couch nursing a aching arm and back.

"What were you thinking?" demanded Dr. Magess, "You could have been killed and for what? A closed project!"

Rachael just sat back into the break room's couch and let her uncle's voice roll over her. This wasn't the first time he reprimanded her for a dangerous stunt but this time there was a legitimate reason for her actions. And it seems, Mr. Drake agreed with her thinking.

"Dr. Magess, "came his deep, calm voice as he handed the girl a cola, "It's not like she had much of a choice. She was here working on her school project and it was the creature that struck first. All she did was fight back, something I hope anyone in my employ would do." Turning his full attention to the tired Rachael he asked, "Are you certain it was interested only in the Stormlark?"

"That's what it looked like to me, "she answered after taking a sip, "Although I can't be absolutely sure. Shouldn't someone be contacting the Autobots?"

Arthur tapped on of his fingers on a table as he thought and then answered, "No. We'll move the Stormlark to cold storage sooner than planned and nothing more will be said of it."

The girl frowned, obviously not agreeing to his decision but resigned to follow it. "At least I'm almost done with the programs."

**(Scene Change)**

From out of the ocean's depths a metallic tower rose as the winged spy flew towards it. A door opened allowing its entry, before the tower began it descent back into the dark depths.

Flying though a maze of hallways, elevators and stairs Laserbeak eventually found Soundwave. In mid-flight, it transformed into its cassette form and landed in the waiting Soundwave's chest. "Megatron, "Soundwave said, "Laserbeak has returned."

Not turning away from the large, wall size monitor showing a human news report Megatron said, "Report."

After a brief lightening of his eye band, Soundwave then walked over to a keyboard and inserted a wire from his wrist. The monitor flickered and the image of a female shaped robot replaced the news. "This is one of Nightbird's sister units. It is called Stormlark and is almost complete. However, it has been decided to end the project and place the unit in storage….indefinitely."

"Any word on the other units?" asked Megatron.

"Negative, "answered Soundwave.

"Prepare a strike team, "ordered Megatron, "We start our 'recruitment' program come sunrise."

**(Scene Change)**

'I can't believe I forgot the disc in the lab's computer, 'thought Racheal as the bus dropped her off in front of Pendrake Industries. She ran through the front gate, flashing her badge at the security guard there. Rushing up the stairs to the second floor lab, she glanced at her watch. She had ten minutes before the next bus was to arrive and she had to be on it otherwise she was going to be late for class. Once again she cursed herself for not having a car. After this semester was done, she was going car shopping no matter how much money she needed to save for classes.

Dr. Mages raised an eyebrow as his niece ran into the lab and headed straight to the computer. "Let me guess, "he said with a smirk, "you forgot your class project…again."

Rachael was about to respond when the first explosion shook the ground and the alarms went off. A voice rang out over the speakers, "Decepticons attacking! Everyone to your stations! This is not a drill!"

"Damn it!" said Dr. Magess as he ran to start erasing the computer's files. Backups were made nightly and send to underground safes for such occurrences.

Rachael looked through the still broken glass lined windows. "Crap! They're here for the robot! "she said as she headed to the stairs that led down to the robot.

"Rachael!" yelled Dr. Magess seeing where she was going.

"I'm just going to try to block that hole in the wall with one of the lifts, "she yelled back from the ground, "Then I'll start on uploading the security protocols."

**(Scene Change)**

"Hurry you fools!" ordered Megatron as he landed, "I want the Stormlark in our possession four hundred astro-seconds ago!"

A large blast nearly knocked Megatron over, and left a small dent in his chest plate. The white Decepticon growled as looked around. This bunch of humans was tougher than normal, he noted, they actually had some decent security. Another blast sent Thundercracker flying after landing in his mid section.

"Autobots approaching, "said Soundwave as he released Lazerbeak, Rumble and Ravage as he ordered to his cassettes, "Operation: Delay."

Down the road Optimus Prime lead a group of Autobots to assist the humans. Bubblebee at the end of the line groused, "I can't believe they haven't called us. What are they thinking?"

Chip answered, "From what I was told, the owner of Pendrake Industries feels that humans should learn how to defend themselves and not depend on the Autobots."

"Nice thought, "said Spike, "But I don't think we're up to the challenge….yet."

"I don't know, "said Hound through their communicator, "from what I'm seeing they seem to be doing a decent job."

A smoking Skywarp flew over backwards in robot mode. 

"What the hell, "said Ironhide seeing the tell tale lights in the distance, "I didn't know humans had energy weapons."

"Pendrake Industries is said to be decades ahead of anyone else when it come to technology, "said Chip with a worried tone, "I just hope Rachael isn't there."

"Who?" asked Spike.

"A friend of mine, "answered the boy, "She and her uncle work for Pendrake Industries."

In minutes they arrived at the now destroyed front gate. "Autobots, "ordered Prime, "Transform and prepare for battle!"

**(Scene Change)**

Rachael fingers flew over the keyboard as the last of three protocols were installed in the Stormlark's motherboard. Now even if the Decepticons reprogrammed the thing, Stormlark wouldn't be more than an oversized action figure unless the protocols were met. And at the moment, she was the only one that even knew what they were.

She heard her uncle's voice ring out, "Racheal move!"

A bright light filled the room and the next thing she knew the lift she had placed to block the hole in the wall was flying across the room. She was also painfully thrown into and over the computer monitor. Holding one arm tightly over her lower ribs, Rachael stood shakily up and saw Megatron enter. 

His red eyes flashed as he took in the room and saw the target of the raid. She was not as deadly looking as his beloved Nightbird, but this Stormlark will do nicely for now. The robot dark purple coloring, with lighter blue and gray shades gave her an electric like appearance. For some reason, the humans gave her what appeared to be black decorative bands crossing over her chest, over her shoulders and apparently down her back. Like the Nightbird, she too wore what appeared to be a mask over her pale blue face. A clank turned his attention away from the she-bot to a female human who stood and glared defiantly at him. "Worthless flesh creature, "he said as he lifted up his blast cannon.

"Stop right there, Megatron, "said Optimus Prime holding up his own weapon.

Megatron smirked as he turned to face his long time rival to say, "Really, Prime, you should think of more original greeting."

Rachael limped her way to one of the emergency exits near the Stormlark, knowing there was no way she was going to make it up the now rickety stairs. She only hoped that her uncle got out ok.

"No it can't be… "she heard Prime say and assumed he was talking about the robot. A sudden surge of pain forced the girl to her knees next to the now damaged and exposed cables running from the computers to the Stormlark, nearly falling over it.

"Oh yes it is, "answered Megatron, "Another Nightbird and soon a new addition to the Decepticons." Then a sudden, electric blast knocked the Autobot leader over from behind, Shrapnel entered the room with his weapon raised. "Good work, Shrapnel" said Megatron with a grin and raising his cannon once again, "Now to finish the job."

"Prime!" yelled Sunstreaker as he ran in and tackled Megatron. Sideswipe followed and did the same to Shrapnel. The Insecticon's weapon when flying through the air and crashed into the ground went off, firing directly at the kneeling human. A heart wrenching scream filled the air as the electric blast hit Rachael in the back and she fell over the cable. In seconds she was unconscious, her body twitching from the electric current.

"No, "whispered Prime. He then stood up, his eyes flashing as he turned and this time loudly said, "No."

"Get off of me you fool, "yelled Megatron, knocking Sunstreaker to the side as he stood.

Prime turned and with an angry glare punched Megatron in the face, knocking him out of the room. The Decepticon leader sat up from the ground, and rubbed the side of this mouth with the back of his hand as he took in Prime's uncharacteristic rage. "Decepticons,"he called out, "Retreat for now!"

As everyone watched the Decepticons fly off, no one noticed a brief flash of light in the Stormlark's amber eyes. 

**The End….**

Next Time on Flight of the Stormlark….

Rachael's voice rang out from the computer's speakers, "First security protocol met; activation now in progress."


	2. Return of the Nightbird

**Note:** Sorry it took so long, but it got kinda busy at work so I haven't had much time to write. Also, I'm have a hard time finding a beta reader for this story for some reason. So please don't get too upset when you find some spelling and/or grammar errors. BTW I do not own the Transformers or the Nightbird…well except for the DVDs.

Update: Thanks to Tiamat1972 for correcting in regards who it was that Chip helped via computer. ****

Chapter Two: Return of the Nightbird

A subdued looking Starscream entered the command center of the Decepticon base. Sitting in his chair, Megatron impatiently tapped a finger as he commanded in a cold voice, "Report."

"Everything went according to your plan, mighty Megatron, "answered Starscream, "Bombshell is with her now."

Megatron turned his chair as the monitor flickered on. "Bombshell, how is our guest, "the Deception leader inquired.

Bombshell's face filled the screen as he answered in his echoing voice, "She is doing fine..fine…fine. A little more work and the problem with the power booster will be resolved…solved…solved."

"Good, "said Megatron, "I'll send Soundwave to see about possible…upgrades."

The monitor went blank and silence ruled the room until Megatron said, "Don't you have somewhere else you have to be….Starscream."

The jet gulped and hastily left the room.

**(Scene Change)**

In a hospital waiting room sat Chip Chase, Dr. Merv Magess and Spike Witwicky. A doctor entered the room and in an Eastern voice said, "Sorry to keep you waiting, but we wanted to make sure of the diagnosis."

"How is she doing?" Magess asked.

"At first we thought she was in a coma caused by the blast you reported, "said the doctor as he flipped the paper over the notepad, "However, aside from bruised ribs and minor electrical burns she seems physically unharmed. However, we are unable to read any higher brainwave functions. It's as if her mind was completely erased keeping just enough brain function to keep her alive."

Chip spoke up and asked, "So what happens now?"

"We have called in a brain specialist, but from what we can tell the odds of her ever waking up are not good, "answered the doctor.

**(Scene Change)**

"What is the hold up, "demanded Drake as he walked into the Stormlark's hanger, "That thing should have been loaded on the truck and down the road hours ago."

One of the two techs turned to answer, "Sir, Miss Magess entered some security protocols which we are unable to get around."

"So, "said Drake, "That shouldn't stop you from loading…."

"Watch, "the tech interrupted as he waved to the other tech. His partner climbed up onto a small crane, started it up and moved the boom over as if to prepare to move the robot. A large spark of electricity flew from the Stormlark's skin and struck the crane with a sound of thunder. The smell of burnt metal filled the air as the tech jumped out of the crane.

"You see, "said the first tech, "That happens every time. If it wasn't for the crane's insulation…."

"What the heck was that!" exclaimed Drake.

"It seems that the nanite AI took the security program that Magess installed as a command, "said the tech now facing a small computer and clicking on the keyboard, "Now the nanites are using excess energy as a weapon to enforce the protocols."

"That's impossible! It wasn't designed that …..,"Art Drake started to say, but was interrupted by alarms and the announcement of another Decepticon attack. With a growl, Drake picked up a phone and ordered, "Call the Autobots!"

**(Scene Change)**

"Dang nabbit! I can't believe that feisty she-bot, Nightbird, was stolen while we were busy fighting Megacrumb."

Prime turned to face the room full of Autobots, as the image of Dr. Fujiama faded from Teletran's monitor. The Autobot leader said, "It seems that yesterday's attack was only a diversion."

"What I would like to know is just how many of these robots are there?"said Wheeljack, "One I can understand for study and research, but two tells me there is more going on than what we are being told."

"Neither Dr. Fujiama or Mr. Drake were very talkative either, "mused Prime, "Perhaps Dr. Magess will be willing to shed some light on the issue."

"ALERT! ALERT!" Teletran One's voice filled the air as the emergency lights began to flash.

**(Scene Change)**

Megatron smirked as he walked into the hanger with Soundwave following close behind. The smirked turned into a frown as a spark of electricity struck him when he got too close to the robot. "Deal with that, "growled the white Decepticon, "and see to it that she is delivered undamaged to the base."

Sounds of conflict could now be heard from outside. Megatron added, "While I go reacquaint Prime with an old friend."

Megatron walked through the hole in the wall as Soundwave turned to consider his options. Just outside, Drake overheard what was said. Something had to be done or it would be another Nightbird. Out of nowhere came a yellow Volkswagen racing through explosions and laserfire. Stopping next to Art Drake it transformed into Bumblebee and revealed Chip Chase. "Mr. Drake, "Chip said as he rolled over to the man," you alright?"

"I have to find some way to keep them from taking Stormlark!" exclaimed Drake.

"Is she still hooked up to the computer?" asked Bumblebee, "If she is, maybe Chip might be able to do something like that time he helped old Prowl."

"I'm willing to give it a shot, "added Chip.

"There's a terminal upstairs, "answered Drake.

**(Scene Change)**

Prime and the Autobots were busy fighting off the three jets and the insecticons when Megatron started blasting. Between blasts he said, "So good of you to show up…..I thought you might be interested in meeting an old friend."

From above a dark shape landed on Prime's chest, knocking the Autobot down. The figure jumped and flipped backwards to land in a combative stance. As a pair of wings folded up into her backpack, she drew and activated her energy sword.

"Oh hell, "said Ironhide, "It's Nightbird!"

As he got up, Prime demanded, "What have you done to her this time, Megatron!"

**(Scene Change)**

Upstairs in the damaged lab, Chip and Drake hid from Soundwave as they feverishly tried to find someway to keep the Decepticon from getting the robot. "It would help if we actually knew what the protocols were, "said Chip as he continued clicking on the keyboard hoping something would work.

Keeping an eye on Soundwave, Drake replied, "Unfortunately, Rachael put them in during the last attack and didn't have a chance to tell us what they were."

"Hmmmm, we can assume it's something she's used before….I got it!" Chip nearly yelled as he started to search the desk. Finding and hooking up a microphone he explained, "Last semester she created a voice recognition program. My guess is that since it was already in the computer, she used that and hopefully…." Chip handed the microphone to Drake and said, "Well, say something."

Somewhat uncomfortable, the red head said into the mike, "Hello?"

"Voice recognition in progress, "came Rachael's voice, loudly from the computer's speakers, "Please state your request."

"Crap, "said Chip as he rushed to turn down the volume, but the damage had already been done. In the hanger, Soundwave turned and with flashing eyes, released Lazerbeak from his chest.

"Arrrrrk!" the cassette sounded as he flew up to the broken window.

"Damn, Decepticons!" said Drake as he dove down behind the desk, still holding the mike, "They have to be stopped!"

From the speakers came Rachael's voice, "First security protocol met; activation in progress."

"Ok let's see what…."started Chip but was interrupted by a laser blast from the small flyer that struck the computer. The blast knocked Chip over and destroyed the terminal. 

After seeing that Lazerbeak had the human problem well in hand, Soundwave turned to continue working on the problem at hand only to be met with a small, purple fist in his face. The punch knocked him into the concrete floor with a crash. 

**(Scene Change)**

Outside, Prime and the Autobots now including Bumblebee faced the Nightbird. "I'll ask again, "said Prime, "What did you do to her?"

"A greater kindness than your actions, Prime, "answered Megatron as he crossed his arms, "I gave her freedom, where you had her buried alive."

"What?" whispered Prime, for once taking a good look at the ninja robot who glared at him with pure hatred in her amber eyes and the Decepticon emblem proudly showing over the left breast. Was it possible for a human made robot to actually be alive?

Nightbird decided that the Autobot had enough time to consider their sins and with a sweep of her sword, she nearly sliced into Prime's face.

The Decepticons followed her lead and started blasting at the Autobots. Nightbird continued her attack on the Autobot leader, who finally raised his weapon. A blast from Megatron's cannon knocked it out of his hand. "Now, now…"said Megatron with a smile, "Let's keep this a fair …..."

Nightbird used the distraction to perform a sweeping kick to trip Prime and using the same momentum went up into a stance holding her sword above her head. Her sword came down to impale the Autobot leader and just before it landed something tackled the ninja, knocking her down. Nightbird quickly jumped back into a battle stance to see who had tackled her.

The dust cleared to reveal the Stormlark as she reached behind herself and pulled out a metallic cylinder. Holding it with both hands, parallel to the ground it expanded into a long staff with sparks flickering on both ends. Stormlark twirled the staff expertly a few times and then went into a fighting stance, holding it above her head. The 'sisters' stared silently at each other for a few seconds as the fighting continued around them. They each nodded to the other as if in agreement and then ran towards each other, weapons raised. Sword struck staff with a hail of sparks.

"What's the meaning…."Megatron started to say but then changed his mind and the spoke into his chest communicator, "Soundwave do you read? Answer me!"

There was no response. "Skywarp, find Soundwave, "ordered Megatron.

Skywarp punched Sideswipe in the face and then flew into the direction of the Stormlark hanger. Megatron sent a blast at Sideswipe when he tried to follow the jet. Prime's fist appeared, slamming into Megatron's face.

**(Scene Change)**

Outside the hanger, Skywarp found Soundwave unconscious and a badly mangled lazerbeak on top of him. He picked up the cassette creature up carefully and it gave a weak squawk. Skywarp brought up his other arm to speak into his communicator, "Megatron, Skywarp reporting. Soundwave and Lazerbeak are both out of commission. I'm taking them back to base. Skywarp out."

He then grabbed onto Soundwave's arm and flew slowly up into the air.

**(Scene Change)**

Megatron received the message as he fought with Optimus Prime. Growling he fired his cannon, forcing Prime to dodge. As the Autobot dodged, he met up with Megatron's fist in his face and fell to the ground. "Decepticons!"Megatron yelled out, "We lost today's prize, but there are others. Retreat!"

All the Decepticons then transformed and flew off, except for Nightbird who was busy fighting Stormlark and was unable to follow without risking damage. Seeing this Megatron fired at the purple she-bot, striking her in the upper arm and effectively knocking her away from Nightbird. Nightbird turned and nodded her thanks to the Decepticon leader as her wings unfolded from her backpack. She then flew up into the sky along side Megatron.

"Wat do ya' think he ment by others?" asked Ironhide.

Wheeljack reached down to help the Stormlark up answered, "I got a theory…Here let me see to that…OUCH!"

An electric spark slammed into Wheeljacks hand as it got too close to the injury.

"Guess she don't want ya messing with her, "grinned Ironhide.

**The End….**

Next time on Flight of the Stormlark

"Get me the medical records of that flesh creature, "order Megatron.


	3. A Question of Sentience

**Note:** Thanks for the reviews and encouragement. A brief heads up to this particular chapter. Remember this is taking place in the mid to late 1980's and human made computers back then, especially the terminals were not as graphically as advance as they are today. (sigh) I still have nightmares of dark gray screens and light gray letters, or even worse the dark brown screens and orange letters (shivers). Anyways, not much action but some interesting bits of info in this chapter that will help the next chapter. You may also note a small change in writing. This is due to a good suggestion sent to me in a review to one of my other stories.

**Chapter Three: A Question of Sentience**

"I don't believe this, "said Art Drake as he flopped down in his chair behind the desk, "Another security protocol?"

The tech standing in front of the desk flinched and replied, "That what it seems and because of it we can't deactivate the unit, check its programming or even perform repairs."

Drake waved off the last as he said, "Those nanites will see to the repairs that and energy conversion is what they're there for. Why would she place more than one…."

"Most likely, Sir, the first one was only to get the robot to a safe location if taken, "offered the tech, "a second one to ensure that no one gets access to anything important…"

Tapping his finger for a few seconds as he thought, Drake finally sighed, "See if you can get that Chase boy to help you. He was able to figure out the first one; maybe he'll be able to do it again."

**(Autobot Headquarters)**

Outside of Autobot Headquarters, a lone Optimus Prime watched as the sun rose over the horizon. For nine million years he fought a war against the cruelties of the Decepticons only to find out that they corrected a grave injustice on his part. He had literally condemned Nightbird to be buried alive with no hope of release of any sort. Her actions the other day proved that she is sentient and now followed Megatron.

What of Stormlark? Was she in the same category as Nightbird? Did Nightbird gain her sentience before or after the Decepticons tapered with her programming? If before…."Damn, "Prime mumbled. He then turned when he heard the sounds of footsteps, to see Wheeljack walking towards him.

"There you are, "said the Autobot, "We just got a call from Chip saying that Pendrake Industries have asked him for help with Stormlark."

"Hmmmm…"said Prime with a thoughtful look, "This could be a chance to get some answers. Why don't you give Chip a ride there instead of Bumblebee?"

"They may not like…"started Wheeljack.

"I already made one mistake because I lacked all the facts, "Prime interrupted, "I don't want to make another."

**(Decepticon Underwater Base)**

Megatron sat in the command room watching a recording of the last fight with the Autobots. A low growl escaped his lips as he watched the Stormlark make her appearance tackling the Nightbird. The Decepticon leader slammed his fist on the armrest of his chair and the monitor flickered off. The hiss of the door opening and closing filled the now ominously silent room as the recently repaired Soundwaved walked in.

Without turning, Megatron said, "Care to explain how the information we had on the Stormlark was so wrong. According to your report she only had the most basic of programs installed and yet…" Megatron turned with glowing red eyes and continued, "She was able to disable you and fight Nightbird to a stalemate."

"From what we have gathered what occurred is impossible, "answered Soundwave without emotion, "New programming must have been installed since our last reconnaissance."

"Oh really, "said Megatron, "How could that be possible if one of their two main programmers is in a coma and the other distraught because of it…..wait."

Megatron turned to the computer and clicked a few keys. The monitor flickered back on and a recording of the first attack on Pendrake Industries appeared. Sunstreaker and Sideswipe's 'rescue' of Prime, Shrapnel's electric pistol flying and the human female getting hit by an electric blast right over the main computer link to the robot.

"Get me the medical records of that flesh creature, "ordered Megatron.

**(Pendrake Industries, Research Facilities)**

Drake watched the security monitor as the Chase boy and one of his Autobot friends drove past the gate. Drake was fuming that the boy insisted on bringing the Autobot along. This was bordering on breaching the agreement he had with the other companies but the boy was the best chance of finding out what Rachael did to the Stormlark. It seems that she solved the AI problem plaguing the entire project. So far only the Nightbird has shown any sentience but that unit was contaminated by the Decepticons. If what he saw the other day was any indication then Stormlark has the possible sentience needed and is not in league with the Decepticons.

The phone buzzed and one of the security guards picked it up. "Sir, " the guard turned to his boss, "The Stormlark is not in her hanger."

**(Scene Change)**

Oblivious to the chaos she created, the female shaped robot laid on the side of a low hill hidden from the view of the main compound but still on its property. She held up one hand up, turning it back and forth as is trying to remember what it was. After a few minutes of silent study she sat up, pulling her knees towards herself like a school girl and looked into the distance.

The compound's alarms startled her and the announcement that Stormlark was missing could loudly be heard. With a sense of sighing, the robot stood up, dusted herself off and then headed back to the compound.

Ignoring everyone's reactions, ranging anywhere from amazement to shock, she calmly walked into the hanger and finding a clear spot next to a still standing wall, sat down with her back against the wall. A tech that was standing in the upstairs lab, picked up the phone and excitedly reported that 'it' had returned. At the term it, Stormlark glared up to the glassless windows as if insulted.

A few minutes later, Drake, Chip and Wheeljack entered the hanger followed by another tech. "Where was she?"demanded Drake. From upstairs the tech replied loudly, "No idea, sir. It just walked in shortly after the announcement went….."

The robot in question pickup the empty terminal box and threw it at the tech. The tech jumped back away from the window as the box smacked lightly under it. Wheeljack laughed and said, "Don't think she like's being called it."

Chip sighed and covered his eyes with a hand. Drake on the other hand looked from the fallen box, to the tech who once again stood next to the window and back to the Stormlark. How much of that 'attack' was harmless? Did she choose to throw the box, knowing it would not harm the tech or did she choose it only because it was the closest thing on hand to throw? What if there had been a chunk of concrete rather than a cardboard box? And how could Stormlark be 'insulted' to begin with? That wasn't supposed to be part of her programming. 

While Drake was thinking, Chip rolled over to the new terminal station next to Stormlark's upright wall harness. "Ok, "the computer whiz said, "Let's get started….Stormlark would you please?"

The robot nodded, stood up and got into place. However, when one of the techs tried to start strapping her in, she gently but firmly pushed him away as her amber eyes flashed. Nervously the tech gulped and looked to Mr. Drake for instructions. Drake nodded to indicate to let the robot be.

As per his habit, Chip thought out loud as he worked, "I doubt that Rachael would have used the same security measure twice and even if she did she wouldn't use the same batch of voice patterns. We just lucked out that Mr. Drake was one of the ones she chose for the first protocol."

" One of the ones?"asked Drake.

Chip hummed in agreement and pulled up a list of names on the terminal screen, "See any of these people could have activated the Stormlark. Your name is here, so is Dr. Magess. My guess is she just use the entire list of voice prints she had on file rather than taking the time to pick and choose. Besides anyone on this list is most likely an employee of this company so they should have been safe enough to use." A few more clicks and he continued, "That's another reason why she most likely didn't use the voice recognition program twice. She just didn't have the time to pick and choose voice patterns."

The Stormlark's eyes flickered as the computer monitor went dark and then a single line appeared: 

Welcome to the Stormlark Processing System, please enter your name:

Watching over Chip's shoulder, Drake said, "Enter my name."

Chip typed in his name and hit enter. The screen flickered and then read:

Incorrect identification. Access denied. Please enter your name:

"That's strange, "said Chip, "Your name is on the voice recognition list. Let's try…." Chip then typed in Rachael's name and then hit enter again. Once again the screen flickered:

Incorrect identification. Access denied. Please enter your name:

"Ah hell, "said Wheeljack, "Just enter your name already, Chip."

Chip shrugged and as suggested entered his own name. A new response appeared:

Greetings, Chip Chase. How may I assist you today:

"You mean she knows who is typing?" asked Drake.

Wheeljack shrugged and with his thumb pointed over his own shoulder at Stormlark. "She's right there, "he said, "No reason why she wouldn't know."

"So Stormlark was making a point, "mused Chip.

Drake said, "That's impossible."

"Huh….Why?"asked Wheeljack as Drake mentally kicked himself.

Truthfully the man answered, "Because she was never to be programmed to have such hu….emotion based actions. Making a point…Feeling insulted…are all beyond specifications." Drake's voice faded towards the end as if unsure himself of what the Stormlark was capable of.

"Well back to the security measures, "said Chip turning the subject back to the reason for him being there, "Since we can safely assume that she did not use voice recognition again….Unfortunately Rachael always puts at least three security features on everything." Chip rolled his eyes as he looked at the keyboard and continued, "My guess is she used what she already had in the system."

Drake sighed tiredly, "Unfortunately, she did most if not all her programming projects here. All of her security programs are here on file and a few we even implemented. Haven't had a single hacker get through since."

"Nice, "said Wheeljack, "Miss. Magess must know her stuff."

"Yeah, "said Chip sadly and he became uncharacteristically quiet, remember why he was the one having to break through her security programs.

"Well I'll let you get back to work, "said Drake sensing a change in mood, "I have a business to run."

Drake turned and headed out but whispered to the tech, "Try to make sure that they don't see anything they shouldn't. Once the boy is in, try your best to get him away from the computer. Understand?"

The tech nodded.

**(Hospital)**

In the hospital's parking lot, one of the nurses arriving for work bends over and picks up a small, blue tape player she found on the sidewalk. Turning it over, she wonder's if one of the doctors may have dropped it. She knew of a few who liked to record their ideas on tape rather than write them down. Shrugging, she put it in her over large purse with the full intention of turning it in at the lost and found desk. The automatic doors opened as she walked up to them and she entered the building.

As she heads to the nurse's lounge, she over hears a pair of doctors discussing the case of a young, comatose woman. Their discussion became obviously heated as she left the lobby.

"I tell you there is no higher brain activity what so ever, "said the eastern sounding doctor, "However there is no physical reason for it, therefore I can't ethically agree with your diagnosis that there is absolutely no chance for recovery."

The other doctor frowned and said, "Look I'm not saying to pull any plugs, just that we shouldn't give her family any false hope. Even if she does eventually wake up, her mind will be that of an infant…."

A voice being cleared interrupted the discussion as the hospital head gave both doctors a cold glare. "Don't you think it would be wise to have you discussion somewhere more private?" he said coldly.

Both doctors suddenly seemed aware of just where they were and with a sheepish look nodded as they headed to the elevator.

The nurse from earlier, now in uniform past the hospital head and laid the tape recorder she found outside on top of the front desk. "Sarah, "she said and when the front desk clerk looked up she continued, "Someone dropped this outside, can you put it in the lost and found box for me?"

**The End…**

Next time on Flight of the Stormlark…

"What the…"said Chip as he read what was on the screen, "That's impossible."


	4. Stormlark's Soul

**Chapter Four: Stormlark's Soul **

(Hospital)

The receptionist sat at her desk, quietly filing her fingernails until one of the more muscular interns walked past her desk with a smile in her direction. She looked around, seeing that no one was watching got up and put a 'Be back in 15 minutes' sign before walking off to follow him.

A few seconds later, a cardboard box that was under the desk fell over and a small cassette recorder slid out. Its cassette door opened with a quiet click and a cassette forcible jumped out on to the empty chair bouncing off, flipping in mid-air then finally landing on the desk next to a computer. A small antenna came out its side and the computer suddenly turned on. File after file flashed across the screen until one titled 'Magess, Rachael' appeared. A downloading indicator then appeared on the monitor.

Some time later, the receptionist returned straitening her dress and hair as she returned to her desk. She nearly tripped over the cassette recorder. After she sat down she bent over to pick it and return it to the box wondering how that happened. The woman then straightened up her desk finding the cassette next to her computer. She shrugged, dropping it into the box under her desk.  
**  
(Hanger, Pendrake Industries Compound)**

Wheeljack looked around the hanger with interest. Even with the still apparent damage, it was obvious that-for this world-the facility was state of the art. It seemed that humans had an amazing knack for technology and if they kept going as they did they might come to surpass Autobot technology in a few centuries. He then looked at the Stormlark and then reassessed that estimate…it might only take decades IF the right people were brought together. Wheeljack looked at his human friend, Chip, who frowned at the computer screen and then grinned as a new idea came to mind. People like Chip, this Magess girl and even Sparkplug. That is if they don't get themselves killed. For some reason, it seemed that the more intelligent in one area a human gets the more foolish they are in others. Take Sparkplug, a brillant mechanice...but how did Carly describe it...counldn't handle a buck to save his life.

"What the…"said Chip as he read what was on the screen, "That's impossible."

"Something wrong?" asked Wheeljack.

"You could say that, "answered Chip tiredly, "What programming I can get into, keeps changing. It's as if someone else is working on this, but this is the only terminal connected to the Stormlark."

At that very moment the screen went completely black. "Oh man…not now, "mumble Chip as he pressed a few keys. The screen flickered and a few words appeared on the screen.

Can I go now?

"Huh?" said Chip but then looked at his watch to find he had been at it for hours. Suddenly, his shoulders started to hurt from being at the keyboard for so long. He turned off the terminal and turned around as he said, "Yeah. Think its time for a break as well."

Stormlark eyes lit up and she moved away from the wall harness. She raised her arms and stretched. Chip didn't pay any mind but Wheeljack thought it rather strange for such a human habit to be portrayed by a robot. Then again she was created and programmed by humans…

"Wait a minute, "said Chip as he shook off the fogginess caused by too many hours in front of a computer screen, "How did you do that?"

Wheeljack asked, "Do what?"

Chip rolled over to Stormlark and glared up at her as she shrugged. "She…she asked if she could go now. Its one thing to deny an answer to a pre-programmed prompt but to create a completely new inquiry would mean…"

**(That evening at the Decepticon Underwater Base)  
**  
The two of Decepticon jets circled the silent Nightbird who stood in a defensive stance. Thundercracker then attacked with a fist aimed for her face which she dodged and counter with a sharp kick to his mid-section. Skywarp tried to tackle her assuming she was distracted by Thundercracker's attack only to find himself thrown into the air to land flat on his back.

Starscream entered the training room and snorted when he saw his 'brothers' sparring with the alien female. He was about to make a smart remark when he saw Megatron leaning against the opposite wall watching the match with interest. Remembering the punishment he suffered not long ago, he swallowed his words and headed into Megatron's direction.

"What is it Starscream?" growled the Decepticon leader not removing his eyes from the spar.

"I have located another of the units you are sooooo interested in, "drawled the jet who then asked, "Just what is the point of this….fight."

The three Decepticons stopped sparring and Skywarp answered, "Lessons. Her fighting style enabled her to face down Prime…."

"Hmph! It's a sad day when a Decepticon takes fighting lessons from a human made toy, "said Starscream who then found himself pinned to the ground with a small foot in the small of his back and one arm forcibly held up behind him.

Megatron smirked at Nightbird's efficiency and said, "Lessons are not mandatory, but highly recommended."

A notification ding sounded, Megatron tapped his own shoulder and said, "Report."

Soundwave's voice responded, "I have the information you requested."

"Good, meet me in the command room, "Megatron started to walk away and then as if it was an after thought, "Ah…dear Nightbird, please release the moron. Starscream come with me."

Minutes later, Megatron sat down in his chair listening to Starscream's report first. On the main monitor, an aerial view of a castle with some more than modern add-ons could be seen. "Another of the humans' robots can be found here in an underground hanger. From what myself and Reflector have seen it is next most completed but is nowhere near to the level of completion as Nightbird or Stormlark are. She was to be the cold weather and artic region unit, capable of handling weather and temperatures that even we would find dangerous."

"Hmmmm, it seems the humans were trying to create specialists that had the ability to cover each others duties to a certain degree in case of emergency. Clever, "admitted Megatron, "A stealth unit for reconnaissance and covert actions, a medic and energy converter, and now an expert in harsh environment survival and actions. Each possessing decent fighting skills and making _intelligent _decisions…..wish I could claim the same of all my warriors. You may leave."

Starscream frowned knowing that Megatron didn't want him present when Soundwave made his report, once again proving that his position as second in command was nothing more than an empty title. The jet seethed as he left the room. Once the door closed a slam could be heard as if a fist when into a metal wall.

Megatron noted Starscream's anger but did not show it when he ordered, "Tell me what you found out about the girl."

The monitor flickered and a new image appeared…one of a still picture of Racheal Magess and some text. In his monotone voice, Soundwave began his report, "The human know as Rachael Magess is reported to be in a condition called a coma by the doctors. However, after examining the information provided I discovered that diagnosis is incorrect." The screen changed to reveal two lined graphs with the lines going up and down in what appears to be random pattern. "This is the brain pattern of a normal human. " The screen changed to show another set of graphs one with a similar pattern the other completely flat. "This one is the one the woman's brain patterns as reported by the doctors, "Soundwave continued, "Taking into…"

"Enough with the lecture, "interrupted Megatron, "Just give me your conclusions."

"The mind of the human has either been erased or transferred to another, "answered Soundwave.

Megatron smirked as if Soundwave's report was a confirmation of something he already knew. "Good work Soundwave, "he said, "Now I want you to collect a certain someone, I believe you already know who."

"Yes, Megatron."

**(Art Drake's office, Pedrake Industries Compound)**

Talking into the phone, Drake said, "Look I understand…I didn't have a choice, if I didn't allow the boy and Autobot in then more questions would have been raised. Besides, the boy has proven resourceful in overcoming…Yes, I agree fully but…There is no way just the presence of the Autobots could contaminate the project as you put it…That is ENOUGH! I am not going to bother to explain my actions to you any further, we will meet next week as planned with the others and then you can tell all of us your opinion on the matter!" Art Drake then angrily slammed down the phone. The man sighed as he leaned back into his chair closing his eyes. He knew it would have been a mistake to report what has happened to the others, but had no choice. It would have been worse if they found out on their own and they would have had his head…literally in the Russian's case.

The intercom on his desk buzzed and then his secretary's voice came throught, "Sir, Mr. Chase is here to see you. He says it is important."

Drake sighed tiredly and then responded, "Send him in." He released the button before continuing, "At least I know that oversized 'friend' of his can't be with him."

The door opened, letting Chip Chase roll in with a serious look on his face. "Is there something wrong? "asked Drake in a monotone voice.

"I wanted to tell you that I believe may have I found what the second security protocol is, "Chip said, "but I don't think you're going to like it."

"Well, "Drake prompted.

"It seems that the AI is the second protocol, "answered Chip, "Stormlark herself must allow access to her programming. For some reason she is refusing."

With a raised eyebrow to indicate his disbelief, Drake asked, "And how did you come to this conclusion?"

"She keeps changing the security programming, "answered Chip, "Every time I start making progress, everything I've done so far gets erased and a new wall is put into place so that I can't use the same method. I didn't figure it out until I got the prompt asking if we could take a break. Stormlark herself is preventing access."

"Why would Stormlark…"Drake started to ask but then a thought crossed his mind and said instead, "What if the second protocol should have been the nanites' programming deciding who is to get access could Stormlark take it over?"

"I don't see why, "answered Chip, "but that could happen from what I've seen. The nanites' have a hive mentality with the Stormlark being the 'queen' in charge. Although why give the second protocol to the nanites when having Stormlark's own AI being more secure in the first place? To convince the nanites to let us get by all you would need to do is trick them into thinkingwe were the 'queen.'"

Drake slammed the side of his fist onto the desk in frustration and said, "Damn it…there shouldn't be a Stormlark AI! The Stormlark project was put on hold before an AI was completed and downloaded."

"Well there's one now, "Chip said trying not to let his own thoughts show. If no AI was given to the Stormlark, there where did she get it? There is no way the Decepticons could have done it in the short amount of time they were with her….then he remembered what happened that one time Spike was in the hospital. His mind was transferred to…oh crap. Chip suddenly backed away, turned around and started to head to the door. "I think I just figured something out, "he said as he reached over to open the door.

Outside, Stormlark was once again sitting on that low hill but this time Wheeljack was sitting next to her having a one sided conversation which she seemed to be trying to ignore. "Since you're able to use the terminal to communicate, perhaps a voice modulator could be…"

Stormlark suddenly stood and looked towards the night sky as if seeing something. Buzzsaw flew down to drop something and then flew off before Wheeljack had a chance to respond. "What the…."the Autobot said but then added, "Don't touch that it could be…" Stormlark picked up the cube that the Decepticon dropped. "…dangerous," Wheeljacked sighed.

A holographic image of Megatron appeared above the cube and said, "Greetings, Stormlark or should I say Miss. Magess. I have a proposition you might find interesting." The hologram flickered to reveal the image of Dr. Merv Magess being held between Rumble and Frenzy. Megatron's voice continued, "You will meet with us or your _uncle_ will pay the ultimate price. The coordinates and time are embedded in the cube, I suggest you hurry."

The hologram disappeared as Wheeljack said, "You can't be considering…" his protest was ended when Stormlark kicked the Autobot in the mid section and followed through with a two fisted blow to the back of his head. By the time the Autobot recovered, Stormlark was no where to be seen. Rubbing the back of his head, Wheeljack activated his communicator, "Wheeljack calling Prime. We have an emergency."

**The End…**

Next Time on Flight of the Stormlark….

Art Drake sighed in surrender, "She and Nightbird are…were parts of a special project call Elements. The project was put on hold due to Nightbird's apparent defection. There are three others called…"


	5. Stormlark Takes Flight

**Chapter Five: Stormlark Takes Flight**

(Pendrake Compound, Art Drake's office)

"What do you mean you don't know where she is!" snarled Art Drake, "How can something that big get past our security without stealth capabilities?"

The compound's head of security stood at attention apparently unfazed by Mr. Drake's righteous anger answered, "Unknown, Sir. There was and is no sign of her anywhere. The last one to see her was the Autobot and he was knocked unconscious when she left. His story was confirmed by out cameras. There is no known way she could have escaped on foot."

Art Drake's eyes narrowed as he said, "You are aware that she has other means of transportation?"

**(Autobot Headquarters)**

"Do you have any idea where she could be?" asked Optimus Prime as Chip Chase typed away on Teletran One. 

Wheeljack answered, "Not a clue. She took the cube that had the directions with her and I didn't even have a chance to see which way she went. According to the security guards the cameras were knocked out by some energy surge just after she knocked me out."

"Three guesses who caused that surge, "commented Bubblebee.

"Damn, "Chip hissed as he slammed a fist next to the keyboard, "Teletran can't find a single trace of Decepticon activity anywhere nor the Stormlark's tracking signal….wait a minute. Maybe Stormlark turned off her tracking signal but did Nightbird?"

**(Dry River Bed, Desert)**

Rumble shoved Frenzy and the other Decepticon pushed back but before an all out wrestling match could start Starscream walked pass them nearly kicking them out of the way. The jet looked down at their prisoner, who shivered in the night wind. Starscream snarled and the quickly turned away in disgust only to see something he considered worse. Nightbird just stood there leaning against stone outcrop silently staring at him.

"What are you looking at?" growled Starscream. Nightbird's only answer was continued silence but her stare seem to somehow grow even more intense without her moving what so ever. Starscream's hands twitch with the desire to lift his arms to fire at the alien robot but he fought it. Megatron made his point perfectly clear that if any Decepticon harmed her they would have to face **_his_** form of justice. Starscream growled as he walked off to continue with his patrol.

Once he was gone Nightbird turned her head to the left as if she heard something. Her eyes narrowed as she pushed herself off the outcrop.

Apparently unseen, Stormlark laid stomach down on a cliff looking down over the edge watching the Decepticons as they moved around. Her eyes moving as she watched the jet walk off after his stare down with Nightbird. She then glanced at the two smaller Decepticons who seemed to be guarding Dr. Magess but when she looked back to Nightbird, Stormlark found that her 'sister' had disappeared. At that second the sound of an energy blade being activated could be heard not far behind her. Stormlark rolled over to see Nightbird standing close by with her sword in hand. Slowly, the younger robot stood up and held her hands up in surrender. Nightbird indicated with a move of hand for Stormlark to turn around. As Nightbird took the small staff off of Stormlark, she pushed her gently to indicate for her to get moving.

A few minutes later both were standing before a grinning Megatron. "I see you took my little message to heart, "said the Decepticon leader. Frenzy then dragged Dr. Magess and threw him at Stormlark's feet. Megatron continued, "As agreed I am delivering your _uncle_ to you."

Stormlark's eyes narrowed briefly as she did not bother to look at the human at her feet as if saying, 'What's the catch?'

"Now to ensure the flesh creature's continued existence…."Megatron continued only to be interrupted by a loud blast just behind him, nearly knocking him to the ground. Stormlark took the opportunity the distraction provided to reach down as if to pick up the human but was prevented by Nightbird's sword flying down between Stormlark's hand and Dr. Magess's head.

"Let them go, Megatron, "came Optimus Prime's voice as he and a handful of Autobots walk up from the shadows.

Megatron sneered as he said, "A sneak attack Prime, how so unlike you. Then again you missed the whole point of such a maneuver…"Megatron lifted his canon and aimed it at Dr. Magess"…to kill you opponent before he gets the chance to counter."

Stormlark dived to block the blast with her body, ignoring Nightbird's sword and taking the full blast of the shot. The robot was driven into the ground by the force of the blast. There she lay unmoving with only a few sparks coming from her now badly damaged form.

"You fiend!" yelled Prime as he fired at Megatron, starting the battle between Autobots and Decepticons.

**(Dark Hospital Room)  
**  
A pale faced Racheal lay motionlessly in the dark, cold feeling room. The heart monitor next to her bed beeped quietly, the only proof of life. Beep….beep….beeeeeeeeeeeep….The monitor flat lined. In less than a second, the lights were turned on as hospital staff rushed in and a nurse started CPR. She moved aside when a defibrillator was pushed in and someone yelled, "Stand clear!"

**(River Bed)**

As the battle raged around him, Dr. Magess stood up off the ground and walked over to the badly damaged Stormlark. 'This is all wrong, 'he thought, 'What did that creature mean by delivering her uncle? Why was the Stormlark even here? There is no way Drake would have sent the unit.'

A close blast knocked Dr. Magess to the ground, next the robot. He looked up to see that the damage visibly repairing itself as if by magic. Merv nearly smirk at his niece's great job with the nanites. He got back to his feet and walk over to do what he could to speed up the process. As he concentrated, a yellow volkswagon drove up behind him and transformed. "Dr. Magess, "said Bumblebee, "We have to get you out of here."

Magess replied without looking, "Not until she is back on her feet."

"It's too dangerous, "Bubblebee said as he placed a hand on the scientist's shoulder as another nearby blast shook the ground.

"Would you leave if she was one of your fellow Autobots?" asked Magess.

"No offense, Doctor…"Bubblebee started to say, but stopped when the injured robot started to move.

Not far away, Nightbird was fighting off Sideswipe and Sunstreaker. Sideswipe sent a punch in her direction, only to find air and Sunstreaker crashing into him after being thrown by Nightbird. It was like fighting the wind, nothing to catch hold of but it kept knocking you around. Then it got worse, the wind grew fangs in the shape of an energy sword.

As he was fighting Megatron, Prime saw Sunstreaker go down. As Prime was distracted, Megatron took the opening and slammed Prime into the ground with a strong punch to the face. The Decepticon then lifted his canon and said, "You were always too soft…" A surprised look appeared on Megatrons face as he then hissed, "That's impossible!"

Prime jumped from the ground and tackled Megatron, not seeing or caring what caused Megatron to lose focus.

Nightbird raise her sword preparing to finish off the Sideswipe, only to be distracted when the cylinder she took from Stormlark earlier started to glow and released itself from where she had attacked it to her waist. Sideswipe tried to use the distraction only to end up running into Nightbirds fist. As the Autobot fell to the ground, Nightbird turned to see the cylinder flying towards the now standing Stormlark. Nightbird's eyes narrowed as she noticed where the only signs of injuries her sister now carried were a lack of 'paint' where the damage once was. That was quickly being corrected as she watched; purple coloring flowed over the areas of plain metal. By the time, Stormlark took hold of the cylinder and extended it to it full staff length there wasn't a mark on her.

The ninja glanced around seeing all the Autobots and Decepticons busy fighting or unconscious with the exception of the small yellow one and herself. Nightbird reached to a small compartment in her hip and pulled out a disk of some sort. She threw it at the small Autobot and as it flew in the air it sprung open to reveal spring like wires. Not seeing it in time, Bumblebee found himself tangled up in the thin but strong wires and fell to the ground with a "Hey!"

Stormlark stood in a protective stance between Dr. Magess and Nightbird, obviously unwilling to leave the human unprotected. The ninja then threw something to the ground that caused a flash of bright light that after the night's darkness blinded everyone. Next thing everyone knew, Nightbird had her wings extended and Dr. Magess as a hostage ready to fly off at a moment's notice.

Megatron seeing this grinned and said, "I suggest you and your Autobots back off unless you want to see the good Dr. Magess harmed."

A faint growling like sound came from Prime as he and all the Autobots backed off. "Until next time, "Megatron said as he took off and his Decepticons followed. Once far enough in the air, Megatron turned to tell Nightbird, "Be a dear and get rid of the trash."

With a single nod, the Nightbird dropped Dr. Magess as she flew alongside Megatron. 

"No, "whispered Prime knowing that none of the Autobots had their jetpack or were fast enough in the air to catch the falling human. A streak of light flew overhead and raced towards the falling scientist. The steak stopped to reveal Stormlark holding Dr. Magess close to her, the dark previously thought to be decorative bands unfolded out behind her and feather like beams of energy coming from them in almost fanciful wings of light. Wings that started to noticeably flicker as she lowered herself and completely fade out within a few yards of the ground forcing her to turn around in a way to protect her precious cargo from the crash. When the Prime and the others reached her they found the Stormlark once again unconscious with only a faint red light flashing at her right wrist and Dr. Magess still shaken from the fall.

Wheeljack summed it all as he said, "What the heck was that?"

**(Next day at the Pendrake Compound)**

Art Drake sighed as he finished up the video conference with Dr. Fujiama. There was no choice, with the Decepticons both knowing and interested in the Elements project, they had to enlist Autobot aid. Until all the units were fully functional and proven loyal to the human race, it was too dangerous to risk another Nightbird and the only way to ensure that another unit would not be stolen was to have the Autobots help towards security. The same Autobots who were now outside waiting for his answers to their demands for an explanation, demands with the light of recent events was understandable. After speaking with Fujiama and the others, it was now up to him to tell the Autobots about project Elements and what it may mean to both humans and Autobots.

As if he had the weight of the world on his shoulders, Drake left his office and headed towards the Stormlark's hanger. Since late last night or early this morning, depending on how you look at it, the robot had been in her harness getting the now much needed infusion of energy. The combination flight and repairing herself drained both her's and her nanites' energy reserves to the point they didn't even have enough to start converting energy from more normal sources. At least now he knew the Stormlark had a weakness, Drake nearly smirked at the thought which vanished as he thought of the other news he had to deliver; news which Dr. Magess received from the hospital first thing in the morning.

Prime and Wheeljack stood in the hanger as Chip monitored Stormlark's progress. Since last night, he was the only 'tech' willing to work with her that they could truly trust. As Mr. Drake footsteps filled the almost silent room, everyone turned to him and Prime said, "Have you come to a decision?"

Art Drake sighed in surrender, "She and Nightbird are…were parts of a special project call Elements. The project was put on hold due to Nightbird's apparent defection. There are three others called SnowOwl, SeaDove and FireHawk. Each was to be made by different companies across the world and specializing in certain aspect of Earth's defenses. So far only Nightbird and Stormlark are the only two completed but at least one other is close enough that with the information gained from how Stormlark works it wouldn't take long to finished construction."

Prime as he considered Mr. Drakes words turned to look at the Stormlark. Despite her primitive appearance she had abilities which even took the Autobots by surprise. If Nightbird and Stormlark was anything to go by these other robot could be powerful allies or dangerous enemies, depending who got to them first. Prime sighed knowing he had no choice; he had to ensure the safety of the remaining human-made robots. His failure with the Nightbird could not be repeated.

Drake walked over to Chip and said, "I also have some bad news which Dr. Magess asked that I tell you…Racheal died last night."

**The End….**

Next time on Flight of the Stormlark…

Stormlark's eyes narrowed as she glared at the smirking Autobot. Next thing he knew, he was flat on his back, seeing stars and Optimus Prime holding on to Stormlark's arm to keep her from attacking again.


	6. A Strange Pet

**Note:** Sorry I took so long. I had a storyline in mind but lost it when I got sick. One good thing was I got to watch my DVDs again and got another idea (insert evil grin…forces evil grin from face) Also, I would like to ask for anyone's forgiveness ahead of time. There is a scene of a type that I normally wouldn't write, but for some reason I just couldn't resist. And no…it's not a lemon. There will be no lemons/limes/etc in this story since most of the main characters are robots and in case you haven't noticed there is little or no romance in this story either.

**Chapter Six: A Strange Pet**

A large red and white jet flew out of the rain cloud laden sky and landed surprisingly gently on the grassy field not far from a medieval looking castle. Its forward facing cargo door opened and out walked three Autobots: Wheeljack, Blaster and Tracks. Tracks loudly complained, "I can't believe we're here to baby-sit some…."

"Enough already, "said Wheeljack reaching the end of his patience, "The Decepticons have already showed they have an interest in these robots…that should be enough of a reason to accept Dr. Winhurst's request for help."

"Besides, Tracks," said Blaster, "So far these human-made robots have proven quite effective. After all it was the Nightbird who…"

"Only after the Decepitcons had a chance to upgrade her, "interrupted Tracks.

The laughing voice of Skyfire could be heard coming from the jet as he said, "Don't you think you're being a little closed minded? Besides what harm can it be to let them develop there own defenses? If nothing else it should help us in the…."

An explosion in the distance interrupted the jet who then transformed to better see into the distance. A column of smoke rose from castle ramparts as a siren started to go off in the distance.

**(Castle Courtyard)**

Chip Chase rolled out from the smoking testing lab coughing loudly as gray clad techs wearing white hard hats race by. Next to him strolled the silent Stormlark with what appears to be a hint of amusement in her amber eyes. "My apologies Mr. Chase, "said the one tech wearing a blue hard hat indicating his higher rank, "We had no idea that the Stormlark's energy field…"

"I tried to warn you, "Chip then coughed, "would you listen…noooooo."

At that moment, Wheeljack and Tracks drove up and screeched to a halt. Wheeljack transformed as Blaster 'jumped' out of Track's window. The boom box and sports car then both transformed as Wheeljack asked, "What the heck happened? For a moment there we thought it was another Decepticon attack."

"Hey, Chip, "greeted Blaster in his own unique way, "Why brings you to merry old England?"

"Well, I was asked by Pendrake Industries to keep an eye on Stormlark as she goes through some tests, "answered Chip, "Pendrake has an agreement with Winhurst Corp to allow them run a few tests to see if what has worked for Stormlark might be used for their part of the project."

Wheeljack chuckled and said to Stormlark, "So Drake still can't find anyone else willing or able to work with you." The Autobot then noticed a few chances to the female robot since the last time he saw her a few weeks previously at the Magess woman's funeral, namely a silver engraving of a stylized bird in flight over a circle located on her upper right arm and a small glass like oval at the base of her throat. 'Hmmm…, 'he thought, 'It seems she might have had a few upgrades…wonder what they are.'

Stormlark nodded once and then turned to watch a gray haired woman walk over to them with the aid of a heavy cane. "What the bloody 'ell is going on here?" demanded the woman.

Chip rubbed the back of his head as if embarrassed as he said, "Well remember when I said that voltage and amp meters in that room wouldn't be strong enough to measure Stormlark's energy field safely…."

The tech with the blue hat then said, "The sensors and computers were overloaded and well…blew up."

"I can see that, "the woman growled, "Why are you grousing with these Autobots when there work to be done."

The tech paled and said, "Yes, Ma'am!" He then ran off to leave the others to face the dragon lady know as Dr. Sarah Winhurst.

Sarah hmphed and then focused her attention on her 'guests' and said, "So you be the Autobot that Optimus Prime sent to help protect our little bird?"

It was Wheeljack that answered, "Yes 'em. I'm Wheeljack and this is Blaster and Tracks…" Sounds of heavy footsteps then could be heard in the now silent courtyard and Wheeljack then added, "And this is Skyfire."

"It's an honor to meet with a scientist such as yourself, Dr. Winhurst, "bowed Skyfire, "You're theory of dimensional travel was a true eye opener."

The woman nodded and said, "Well follow me, there's no point standing out here where those Decepticons can see and hear everything we do or say." She started to walk off but then stop and said, "You come along as well boy, no doubt you'll be going as well seeing as you're the one in charge of Stormlark."

As the woman walked off, Tracks mumbled, "How rude…"

Stormlark just stood there silently as the others walked off, she then turned to walk in a different direction. The robot headed towards a set of large stairs leading downward.

**(Large 'War Room')**

"Hey, "said Blaster looking around as they stood around a circular table, "Where the lovely lady go?"

"Who knows, "said Chip with a shrug, "She wonders off by herself on occasion. She'll turn up later, she always does."

"Now if you fellows don't mind, "said Dr. Winhurst sarcastically, "We need to discuss why we are all actually here…namely transporting the Snow Owl to our Antarctic facilities for safe keeping.

"Do I detect a hint of hostility, "whispered Blaster just loud enough to be heard throughout the room.

Winhurst slammed her cane on the table loudly and said, "Yes you do! If there was any other way to ensure the continuation of this project I would take it, but at the moment Autobots are the only ones who can reliably go against the Decepticon as a whole. Stormlark can take them on one on one and perhaps in small groups, but if they strike in full force…" Winhurst sighed angrily and looked away, "As you can see the Antarctic base is completely self-sufficient despite its location…"

**(Somewhere in the Skies Above England)**

As he flew back to Autobot headquarters, Skyfire sighed. It would have been nice to have gotten the chance to speak with Dr. Winhurst for at least a few moments but duty calls. It's been a while since he's been able to talk about something other than weapons development.

A sudden stabbing pain in his thrusters shattered his thoughts as he lost lift. He tried his best to glide his way down but his jet mode was meant for speed and strength not graceful flight. A deep groove was made in a mucky field as he crashed landed. With a groan Skyfire transformed and stood up shakily only to find a dark colored pair of feet in his vision just before they landed heavily, forcing the giant to the ground. Nightbird flipped backwards and gracefully landed in the mud, her sword still in hand.

Skyfire got up again and after seeing the 'small' female form said, "You have got to be kidding me."

Nightbird reached down to her hip and a small door opened. She pulled out a small round object and then threw it at the Autobot jet. Skyfire dodged it and was about to attack when he heard from where the sphere landed a loud, high pitched,"Kreemzeeek!"

The next thing he knew, Skyfire could no longer control himself as he fell to ground shaking crazily, sparks flying up from inside him and then darkness came.

Nightbird sheathed her sword and calmly walked over to her fallen prey. She then knelt down and held out her palm. Her eyes glowed brightly for a second. "Kreemzek?" could be heard coming from the fallen Autobot, "Kreemzek!" A small yellow creature made of electricity rose out of a small hole in Skyfire's chest and jumped onto the waiting palm. "Kreemzeeeee" the creature said happily as it rubbed its head up against Nightbird's thumb. As she stood, Nightbird stroked her new pet for a job well done.

"Well done, my dear, "said Megatron as he landed on the grassy field away from the mud. Nightbird turned to walk towards her leader, with what appeared pride and humor in her eyes. Megatron placed one of his hands on her shoulder, away from the yellow creature and said with a 'loving' smile, "You have proven again that you are truly among the best and smartest of all my warriors."

Not far away, Starscream hid behind a pile of fallen megaliths watching and listening. Trying his best to go undetected….

"Were you learning as you watched, Starscream?" chuckled Megatron not bothering to look in the jet's direction, he had a much better view to look at. Yes, a team of Nightbirds is just what the Decepitcons need. Too long he had surrounded himself with idiots and fools since that was all that was there. Very few Decepitcons could match up to his dear Nightbird and only one he trusted more than her, Soundwave.

"I will admit she's good at back stabbing, "grumbled Starscream as he walked out from behind the stones.

From her palm a growling "Zeeeeee" could be heard. Starscream smirked and continued, "And taking in worthless strays."

Next thing Starscream knew, he was once again face down only this time in the mud with an angry Nightbird painfully pulling back his arms, just short of ripping them out. A smirking Megatron stood on the grass as Kremzek did a little dance, looking almost like a cheerleader, on the ground in front of his right foot, "Zek… Zek… Zek! Zek! Zek!"

**(Few Hours later, At Autobot Headquarters)  
**  
Optimus Prime paced in front of Teletran One obviously worried. Skyfire was overdue and it was not like him to at least call in. Teletran's voice rang out, "Possible former conflict area located." On the large computer screen an image of a tore up field with a deep gouge could be seen; the same field that Skyfire crashed into some time ago.

After seeing the coordinates, Prime pressed a few button on Teletran's console and then said, "Wheeljack come in."

**(Area of Skyfire's Kidnapping)**

"What the heck is she doing here?" asked Tracks as drove up, parked and transformed next to the muddy field.

Stormlark energy wings faded as their metal frames folded back over her shoulders and across her upper chest. Ignoring the Autobots, she looked around as if studying the area.

"You want to tell her she can't stay?" asked Wheeljack as he also transformed.

Tracks walked over the female and said, "Excuse me, Miss or whatever. This is an official Autobot investigation. There is no reason for you to be here and I must….Are you listening to me?"

Stormlark walked off and into the muddy field and knelt down next to a distinctive imprint in the mud. In the distance a roaring sound of what sounded like a rocket could be heard. As she looked around the imprint, the sound could be heard again fading away.

"Look here, we don't need some…some primitive, "said Tracks as he stepped right into the imprint with a disgusted look as his foot sunk into the mud, "wrecking whatever clues there might be."

"Hmmm…Tracks…"said Wheeljack, "You know you're standing right in…"

"If you don't mind, Wheeljack, "answered Tracks with a smirk, "I can't handle this little Autobot wanna-be myself."

Stormlark's eyes narrowed as she glared at the smirking Autobot. Next thing he knew, he was flat on his back, seeing stars and Optimus Prime holding on to Stormlark's arm to keep her from attacking again.

"Just what is going on here, "demanded Prime releasing Stormlark before she decided to try to throw him.

"This…thing, "started Tracks.

"She's not a thing!" yelled Wheeljack.

Behind one of the same monoliths that Starscream hid before, Ravage watched the argument between the pair with interest. As Prime tried to stop the discussion between Tracks and Wheeljack, the panther noticed that Stormlark once again started looking over the scene. She then seemed to pick something up. After looking it over she then returned to others. Tapping Prime on his shoulder, handed whatever she was holding to him. For some reason, the item in question seem to anger the Autobot leader and he then told the other two Autobots in a angry tone to shut up and head back to the castle. Once the Autobots drove off and Stormlark far enough away in the sky, Ravage ran off with a growl.

A few moments later he caught up with Soundwave. Soundwave turned and open his chest saying in his monotone voice, "Report."

Ravage jumped, transformed into his cassette form and slid into Soundwave's chest. The chest closed and Soundwave's eyes flashed for a few seconds. "What's his report?" demanded Megatron walking over to Soundwave.

Soundwave replied, "Optimus Prime has arrived and the Stormlark is proving more intelligent than expected. They are now heading to where the Snow Owl is presently located."

"Excellent, "said Megatron, then he turned to Nightbird that was standing not far behind him, "You know what to do."

Nightbird nodded as her wings slid out of her back pack. She then flew off into the sky.

Megatron turned his attention back to Soundwave, "Continue with your surveillance and see to it that the Autobot survives. He may yet prove useful."

"Yes, Megatron, "

**(Cliff Overlooking an Angry Sea)**

"Stupid Nightbird….Stupid Megatron…"grumbled Starscream as he tried to work the stiffness out of his arms, "What the hell does everyone see in that….that…"

A sound like a clearing throat interrupted his thoughts. Starscream quickly turned and raise his weapon to the source and saw….Stormlark.

"I have a proposition for you, "she said in Rachael's voice, with a light at the base of her throat flashing in time to her words.

**The End…  
**  
Next Time on Flight of the Stormlark

"You mean to tell me that all of your…flyers are out of commission?" said Winhurst in a monotone voice then more heatedly, "I can't believe this…I asked you to protect Snow Owl…you can't even defend yourselves."


	7. Alarms

**Note: **Sorry for taking so long, and I know this chapter may be a little on the short side. Hopefully I'll be able to make it up with the next chapter. Oh yeah, nearly forgot: I do not own Transformers and make no money with this story.

**Chapter Seven: Alarms **

**(Autobot Headquarters)**

"Intruder Alert! Intruder Alert!" Teletran's voice rang out throughout Autobot Headquarters as Autobots and a few humans ran everywhere trying to cut down on the damage and find whoever was doing this. An explosion shook the former spaceship as Sparkplug hit the ground covering his head. Inferno ran over and started to put the fire out as Ratchet helped the human up. "What the blazes is going on?"asked Sparkplug dusting himself off, "One moment I was working on Silverbolt's fuselage and the next all hell broke loose."

Ratchet sighed and then said, "Someone placed explosives all over the place."

Inferno then added, "What's even funny is that even with all the explosions there isn't much damage."

Just then a bigger explosion rang out from the repair bay. "Damn! Silverbolt is still in there!"yelled Sparkplug as he turned to run but Ratchet stopped him as Inferno ran on into the blazing room to look for the Aerialbot.

**(Outside)**

Air Raid and Fireflight flew towards a cliff overlooking Autobot Headquarters after Air Raid swore he saw something. Transforming they landed with their weapons ready. "You sure you saw something? Because I don't see…"Fireflight started to say only to be interrupted by Thundercracker's foot at the back of his head. Fireflight landed face down on the rocky ground but Air Raid lifted his gun to fire only to find Skywarp's hand around his arm and then finding himself also face down with his arm wrenched painfully around his back. "Guess those lessons with Nightbird really do pay off, "commented Thundercracker as he lifted his arm to blast the Aerialbot under his foot.

**(Behind Autobot Headquarters)**

Skydive ignored Slingshot's mindless rambling on what he thought was going on as he carefully studied the area on the other side of the volcano thinking that perhaps the intruder might attempt an escape that way. A flash of light caught Skydive's eye and he said, "Did you see that?"

"See what?" answered Slingshot but followed Skydive as he went down to investigate. From some boulders another flash of light brought them in. Transforming as they landed Skydive carefully walked over to the boulders as Slingshot kept watch. Skydive snorted as he picked up was looked like to be a star shaped disco ball. He turned around to show Slingshot only to find the Aerialbot wasn't there. He dropped the star and raised his rifle looking around carefully

A growl filled the air warning Skydive in time to dodge Ravage. Ravage turned to attack again but had to dodge Skydive's shots. With his attention on the feline Decepticon he didn't notice Rumble and Frenzy until they were already crawling all over him. "Get off!" he said as he tried to knock them off. He then started to transform only to be brought down by the laser fire from three different directions. Lazerbeak and Buzzsaw flew over to hover over the now unconscious Aerialbot as Soundwave came out from behind another boulder dragging a similarly unconscious Slingshot. "Excellent, "he was all he said as Frenzy and Rumble high-fived each other.

**(Dry Riverbed not far from Autobot Headquarters)**

"Aw, come on Omega, "whined Powerglide as he stood with his hands spread out to the side.

"Negative. Orders Clear. Will remain…"Omega started to answer but then smoke and sparks started to come from the rocket portion of his base mode. The sparks then quickly spread down the tracks. Parts of him started transforming part way back and forth.

"Omega!" exclaimed Powerglide beside himself not sure what to do, "What's…"

The Autobot glider fell to his knees to reveal Nightbird right behind him. She stood there watching as the great Omega Supreme eventually stopped moving. "Kreemzeeeeek!" said her little pet as he flew out of the now prone pile of smoking metal and onto the ninja's shoulder as she reach down and grabbed Powerglides foot. Lifting up the smaller robot she stood there as if considering what to do to him. Her eyes flashed cruelly.

**(Winhurst Castle's 'War Room')**

"Understood, "said Optimus Prime into his communicator and then turned towards Tracks, Wheeljack and Blaster, "It seems that someone has decided to ground all our air forces. The Aerialbots, Omega Supreme and even Powerglide are either badly damaged or missing."

"Just great, "said Blaster, "Now we're stuck here in snooze-ville."

"You mean to tell me that all of your…flyers are out of commission?" said Winhurst in a monotone voice then more heatedly, "I can't believe this…I asked you to protect Snow Owl…you can't even defend yourselves."

"Where the heck did she come from? "mumbled Blaster.

Chip rolled up to the group and asked, "Is everyone else alright?"

Prime answered, "No one else was injured and actual damage to Headquarters although extensive nothing critical."

Chip released a sigh of relief and then said, "So what do we do now? The only flyer left is Stormlark and I don't think she's ready for a long distance wing guard flight. Her wings take up way too much energy; she is barely able to convert enough from the environment to keep air born and functional."

"Speaking of Stormlark, "said Wheeljack, "where is she?"

**(Coastal Cave)**

Skyfire groaned as his eyes flickered as consciousness slowly returned. The first thing he saw was…"an angel." A snicker caused him to turn his head to see Starscream leaning against the cave wall. Seeing that particular machine was proof that he was not in heaven and that meant that the female was…

"You should be repaired enough to travel a short distance, "the female spoke out. Skyfire turned to look back at the female, this time recognizing her.

"Stormlark?" he dumbly asked.

"Seems like you concentrated rightly on repairing his body and not his brain, "said Starscream, "What little there is of it."

Skyfire growled as he got up with Stormlark's help, nearly bumping his head on the cave's ceiling. "What are you doing here, _old friend_?"

"Just fulfilling my part of a trade,"Starscream said with a smirk, "Personally believe I'm getting the better part of the bargain…all she's getting is you."

Stormlark tossed something to Starscream as she tried to push Skyfire out the cave. Starscream smirked as his hand wrapped around the small unseen object as his other arm rose as he held his laser rifle towards the exiting pair and said, "Now its time to conclude our…" The rifle exploded knocking him back into the wall.

Skyfire turned in time to see the jet fall heavily to the ground but then heard the female say, "Funny thing about nanites…like sand they get into everything."

Starscream growled as he said up holding his damaged arm close to his body, "You planned to betray me from the beginning!"

"Nooooo, "answered Stormlark ignoring Skyfire's incredulous look, "The software that I gave you will do the job as promised. I just wanted to make sure you couldn't shoot me in the back."

Her wing bands then unfolded as she said to Skyfire, "Let's get out of here before the guards wake up."

**(Castle Courtyard)**

The castle alarms went off as a voice rang out, "Stormlark incoming with Autobot jet! Prepare for possible crash!"

Prime turned as he said, "Possible crash?"

"Oh man, "said Wheeljack seeing the smoke in the distant sky, "If that's Skyfire, he's hurt bad."

The Autobots all transformed, Blaster landing in Tracks front seat, and rolled towards where it appeared that Skyfire was going to attempt to land. "Morons, "mumbled Dr. Winhurst as she turned to walk away only to face an angry Chip Chase. Who only glared at her angrily before rolling his wheelchair in the same direction as the Autobots went.

In a familiar field not far from the castle, Skyfire crashed landed leaving a groove in the ground behind him. He groaned and didn't bother to waste the energy to transform. Stormlark landed not far from him, falling to her knees tiredly as her wings faded and their bands folded up around her shoulders. The combination of using her nanites to sabotage Starscream and repair Skyfire along with the flight to and from his hidden prison was almost too much of a drain on her resources. She looked up and noticed the cloudy sky, especially with no sunlight to convert. She shook her head as she shakily tried to stand up and then saw a hand being offered. Looking up, she saw it was Tracks who was offering his help. If she could, she would have raised an eyebrow but took the help.

Wheeljack looked over the large jet trying to figure out his injuries. The most obvious ones were caused by his recent landing, but some of the others were disturbingly familiar. "Please don't tell me that…"he started to say but Skyfire answered,"Kremzek…somehow Nightbird has it as a trained pet."

"No, no, no…"Blaster said in an almost panic, "Don't tell me that electric gremlin is on the loose again."

"Hmmm…,"Wheeljack thought as he continued to look over Skyfire's injuries, "Whoever repaired you did just enough to get you…"

The sound of stumbling interrupted that line of thought as everyone looked in Stormlark's direction. She was leaning heavily onto Tracks as if she herself was injured, but there didn't seem to be a mark on her.

**(Computer Lab)**

Chip Chase looked concerned as he read over the computer read out. Stormlark dangerously drained herself in her self appointed mission to rescue Skyfire. Why she took that risk he had no idea. She could have easily brought in the other Autobots into her rescue plan…better yet let them do the rescue after finding out where Skyfire was.

"Any word, "said Optimus Prime walking up behind the young man.

"She'll be fine once she's recharged, "answered Chip, "The nanites couldn't convert enough energy from the environment to keep up with her usage."

"Wheeljack mentioned that he believed she used her own nanites to repair Skyfire, "mused Prime, "But that's besides the point, I want to know what she gave Starscream."

"Huh?"

"Skyfire informed me that Stormlark gave Starscream something in trade for helping her, "answered Prime.

Chip looked thoughtful for a moment and then as if the room lit up an idea came to him. He started typing madly on the computer as he said, "I wonder…since I became Stormlark's 'tech', I got to look over some of Rachael's and Dr. Magess' work. There was one side project of Rachael's…Knew it!"

"What did you find?"

"It seems that someone made a copy of a disabling program, "answered Chip, "It seems that Nightbird's first defection gave Pendrake Industries the idea of creating a few safeguards and a means to recover their robots if they do go rogue, overcoming the built in controls. Something like a computer virus designed specifically to disable the 'free will' of the robot, making it almost impossible for her to refuse a direct order from someone on a specified list."

"Wouldn't this put Stormlark herself in danger?" asked Prime.

Chip shook his head as he said, "No, because Stormlark's programming is completely different then was planned for any of the robots. I'm not even sure if it will work on Nightbird since we can assume that the Decepticon altered her programming somewhat, but it's more likely to work on her than Stormlark since the base programming is still there."

"Hmmmm, "Prime said rubbing his chin, "Why is Stormlark so different?"

"Huh…well, "Chip fumbled as he scratched the back of his head, "She was never really…programmed to begin with."

Alarms suddenly went off; the flashing lights and blaring noise, driving the question out of Prime's mind. Chip reached over to a microphone and clicked at its base, "Chase here, what happened?"

A reply from the computer's speaker's said, "Someone has locked themselves in with the Snow Owl. All cameras and other equipment have been cut off."

Before Chip could say anything else, Prime was already running out of the room to the hanger where the Snow Owl was being stored.

**The End…**

Next Time on Flight of the Stormlark…

The doors the hanger suddenly froze over. Then cracks started appear across it surface just before it shattered to reveal…


	8. Tears for the SnowOwl

**Note: **Just in case…(clears throat) I do not own Transformers! If I did, I would have demanded that they be given more screen time in the movie.

Anyways, I was looking over my stories and noticed that it's been TWO YEARS since I updated this one. I had planned to leave all my stories but one on hold and then once that one was finished, go to the next. It seems, I can't write that way and need to have more than one project going to get anything done. What's even sadder is that this chapter was two-thirds done and just collecting dust in my PC.

Anyways, my muse finally returned from his extended vacation and demanded that I work on my Tranformers story or he was gonna leave me again. (That and someone actually reviewed this story after this long period of time. Thanks Shadir!)

**Chapter Eight: Tears for the SnowOwl**

"It was so considerate of the humans to provide us such useful tools, "said Bombshell over the alarms.

Megatron hmphed as he walked around the hole in the floor and said, "Can you finish and re-program her?"

"Of course I can, "answered the insect as he pulled down the mostly completed robot off the wall, "Based off of what we learned from Nightbird…it will be a piece of oilcake."

**(Other side of hanger doors)**

One of the human workmen said a few choice words as he threw the blowtorch to the ground. He then turned to say, "There is no way I'm getting through that door."

Dr. Winhurst sighed as if expecting the verdict and then yelled, "Will someone turn off those bloody alarms already!"

Prime walked up and placed a hand on the doors as Winhurst asked, "Any ideas, Autobot. That door was designed to take an atomic blast, no blowtorch or normal laser is going to cut through it."

"Hmmm…"said Prime, "Do we know who is in there?"

"No, "answered one of the guards, "Everyone was called into a meeting. The alarms went off right when the security cameras went out and the doors slammed shut."

"Dr. Winhurst!" yelled another guard running up to them, "Looks like there was a tunnel dug from outside the security perimeter. We tried following it, but halfway through it was collapsed in.

"Expand the perimeter, "ordered Winhurst, "Call in the off duty guards if you need to, whoever is in there is going have to come out sooner or later."

Prime turned to Wheeljack and gave his own orders, "Check out the tunnel and see if you can find out exactly who made." Wheeljack nodded and was about to turn but then said, "What about Stormlark? If whoever is in there is after SnowOwl…"

"Tracks and Blaster are already with her, "said Prime as he pulled out and made an adjustment to his blast canon's muzzle, "I'll stay here to see if there is something I can do to get through this door."

**(Elsewhere)**

In another hanger, Stormlark rested in her wall harness as Skyfire laid down on a large repair table. Both sets of eyes were darkened as if sleeping but that changed when Blaster and Tracks entered following Chip Chase. "That's just spooky, "said Blaster seeing Stormlark and shivered, "Hanging on the wall like that."

"What's wrong with it?" asked Chip curious.

Tracks sighed and said, "Let's just say there are only specific circumstances where an Autobot would be found hanging on a wall like that…none of them pleasant."

Chip took the hint and decided to concentrate on the condition of the two patients. Rolling over to a computer terminal next to Skyfire, he clicked away reading what came over the screen. "Ok Skyfire should but up and about in less than an hour, "he said and then rolled over to another terminal next to Stormlark, "This is strange…she seems to be losing energy rather than…"

"Any idea what's causing it?" asked Tracks.

"I can make a guess but nothing for certain, "said a worried Chip.

**(SnowOwl's Hanger doors)**

"Understood, "said Prime into a small microphone that came out from his helmet. As the small microphone retracted, he turned to Dr Winhurst and said, "Stormlark is inexplicably off-line."

Winhurst closed her eyes angrily and through thin lips said, "I'll be in my office."

Just as she was walking away, a strange sound filled the air. Everyone turned towards the hanger. The doors the hanger suddenly froze over and cold chilled fog rose from the ground in front of it. Then cracks started appear across it surface just before it shattered with the sound of breaking glass to reveal SnowOwl standing there with one fisted hand slowly dropping to her side. Stunned silence ruled until a blast from behind the white and pale blue robot flew over her should and slammed into Optimus Prime knocking him back into the ground.

From the darkness of the hanger came Megatron and Bombshell with weapons raised. The Decepticon leader smiled and said, "So nice of you to show up, Prime, to meet the newest member of the Decepticon forces. And I should thank the good Dr. Winhurst for putting in that little added surprise to SnowOwl's capabilities; no doubt it will prove most useful."

SnowOwl's eyes flashed brightly and then with no warning she spun into a high kick, her foot smashing into the back of Megatron's head. The Decepticon leader went down, catching himself with his arms apparently unharmed but the insecticon wasn't so lucking, with a blast of sub-zero gases spayed out from nozzles in her palms, the SnowOwl froze Bombshell solid. A punch quickly followed the ice but was blocked by the recovering Megatron's hand. His hand crushed down on to Snow Owl's fist, bringing her to her knees. Megatron hissed, "You dare betray me!"

Optimus Prime tackled Megatron, knocking both him and SnowOwl down. Human guards raced forward but were stopped by Winhurst, knowing they would only get in the way. Grabbing one guard's of the radios, she pressed down the button and snarled, "Get the shields up! We can't let them get away with SnowOwl and someone get those blasted Autobots back here…NOW!"

**(Repair Bay)**

"Code Cocoon in effect- repeat -Code Cocoon in effect,"rang though the facilities along with the alarms. Then another announcement rang though, "Autobots to the hanger, Decepticons located."

"Crap!" exclaimed Chipped as he rolled back to Skyfire's terminal in the hopes of speeding up the repairs. Tracks and Blaster already ran out of the room, the armor doors slamming down behind them. Unseen, Stormlark's eyes flickered and a single fist tightened.

Chip turned when the snapping sounds of Stormlark's harness releasing. The robot fell to her knees as Chip rolled over saying, "Don't even think of going. You have an energy drain somewhere and there is no way you can fight in your condition."

**(Outside)**

Just outside the castle grounds, Starscream watched the monitor placed on top of a large boulder. He smirked as he watched from the SnowOwl's point of view of Megatron and Optimus Prime's fight. A few clicks on a 'small' keyboard and then Starscream's smirk turned into an evil grin as he said, "I really should thank Stormlark for that program. The software, with a few modifications of my own, is working perfectly. Now what to have my little bird do now?"

A glowing energy blade appeared next to the jet's throat. From the corner of his eye, Starscream saw the cold gaze of Nightbird. The jet smirked as he saw the female's hand shake, as if fighting something. He then stiffened as the sword steadied and amber eyes narrowed. Going for broke, Starscream said, "Put the sword away, Nightbird."

Once again the sword shook but this time the energy blade vanished as Nightbird woodenly attached the sword to her backpack. Starscream smirked and then back-handed Nightbird. The ninja flew to the ground and quickly jumped up into a stance. She moved slightly as if to attack but something held her back. "Just try to attack me, "said Starscream returning to the keyboard and monitor, "You'll get nothing but a fried AI. Now stay there and watch as your precious Megatron falls at the hands of your _lovely_ sister."

**(Hanger Doors)**

SnowOwl stood there motionless for a few minutes, but then raised her hands and fired a blast of sub-zero mist that covered both of the battling leaders with ice. Megatron and Optimus Prime stood frozen in place as if time was stopped for the battling warriors. SnowOwl reached behind herself and pulled the a pole that was attached to her backpack. Cocking it like a shotgun, it powered up and energy flowed out the top to create the shape of a war hammer. She raised the hammer into the air as she walked towards the frozen leaders of two armies. A laser shot by her as Blaster said, "I don't know who side you're on lady, so freeze and…"

SnowOwl raised her free hand and sent a blast of ice to the Autobot, who barely dodged it. "Ooookay, "said Blaster as he fired back, "Maybe 'freeze' wasn't the right thing to say."

"Don't damage her!" yelled Winhurst from around the corner.

"Damage her?" Blaster replied as he dodged as SnowOwl swung her energy hammer, "But she's…hmph!"

The first swing missed but the return landed hard on the side of Blaster's head causing him to fly into an armored wall with a crash. SnowOwl raised her war hammer to finish him off only to be tackled by Tracks.

**(Repair Bay)**

"Check…all incoming frequencies, "said Stormlark as she struggled to stand, "I can…feel, Starscream using the program I gave…I am an idiot."

Chip went back to a computer terminal and started typing feverishly as he said, "Why did you give it to him?"

Stormlark leaned against the wall for support as if she was catching her breath and replied, "To be honest…I didn't think he would have the brains to alter it enough to be actually useable…at least not so soon. The plan was…to ensure that on the next set of upgrades…to make it completely worthless by removing that particular safeguard from the robots still in our…in human control."

Chip snorted as he said, "So the only one it would affect would be Nightbird, and the first thing Starscream would have done is make her take out Megatron. The only real leadership the Decepticons have."

Stormlark stood up fully on her own power, swaying slightly. She then said, "Without Megatron, the Decepticons would be relatively easy to defeat…with or without the Autobots…once Project Elements was at full strength."

"Just what do you have against…, "Chip started to say but then stopped as something appeared on his monitor, "Found it! I'll try blocking it and…" A loud thump interrupted him as he turned his head so fast it was surprising Chip didn't get whiplash.

Stormlark was once again on her knees and struggled to stand up. "Forget it, Lark, "Chip said worriedly, "Once SnowOwl is no longer under…"

A large white hand reached down to help Stormlark up. "There's more to it, "said a now wide awake Skyfire, "Isn't there?"

**(Hanger Doors)**

SnowOwl knocked Tracks off of her by punching him in the face and then rolled into a stance. Just as she raised her hammer, her eyes flickered then went dark as she froze in place. The energy hammer dieing down as is fell from her grasp.

**(Outside)**

"Argggh!" scream the Decepticon jet when the monitor went blank. Rapidly clicking keys, Starscream yelled, "What happened?!"

Starscream then felt a sharp pain on the back of his head and then saw nothing but darkness.

As the jet fell to the ground, Nightbird stood with her sword's grip still in her hands. Her eye's flared angrily as she pulled out a dark rope from her backpack and tied the traitor up.

Once done with that small chore, her wings came out and she flew towards the castle.

**(Hanger Doors)**

"Guys, "Chips voice rang out from Blaster's communicator, "I blocked the signal that was controlling SnowOwl. Is anyone hurt?"

"Everything is now A-OK, "said Blaster with a grin, "Thanks to you."

"Or it will be once we get Prime out of that ice, "said Tracks as he made some alterations to his weapon, "Now how to do this without letting Megatron loose?"

As the two Autobots concentrated on their frozen leader, they failed to notice SnowOwl's arms being lowered and her eyes lighting up once again.

Dr. Winhurst calling out, "Watch it!" was their only warning before the blast of freezing liquid covered them both, freezing them in place.

SnowOwl then held her hand out to the side, palm downwards. Her weapon flew up from the ground and return to its owner's hand. The robot returned it to her backpack, and then turned to face her creator's. Her eyes narrowed as icy fog bled from under her feet across the ground.

"Everyone out!" Winhurst ordered, and as everyone ran she yelled into her radio, "Mr. Chase, the SnowOwl is running amok…Do something about that signal!"

"Sorry, Doctor, "came Chip's voice, "The signal is completely gone. SnowOwl is acting on her own…"

A blast of ice headed directly to the Doctor too fast for her escape due to her bad leg. She had just enough time to turn to see her death approaching.

A pair of dark purple hands grabbed her and the world started to spin as Stormlark rolled out of the way of the blast.

Leaving Dr. Winhurst safely on the ground, Stormlark stood up glared at the SnowOwl. "I suggest you leave, Dr. Winhurst, "she said as she watched SnowOwl walk out of the hanger into the open night air. As the doctor limped off, Stormlark pulled out and extended her staff.

"We don't have to do this, "Stormlark told SnowOwl.

SnowOwls only response was another blast of cold, followed by a raised hammer. Stormlark dodged both and countered with a ground sweep of there staff, trying to trip her opponent. SnowOwl back flipped over the attack, and sent a low ground sweeping kick in return.

As the females fought, Skyfire made his way to the hanger and the frozen Autobots. "This should warm you guys up, "he said as he aimed at Tracks and Blaster to fire a beam of red light, causing the ice to melt away. As the two got their bearings, the Autobot jet turned towards Optimus Prime and Megatron, to do the same.

"Hey, "said Blaster, "You sure you…"

Before the ice completely melted, the two warriors broke free of the now weakened ice. Prime send a punch right into Megatron's face knocking in back into the hanger.

Skyfire turned off the heat beam and dropped to pull out his blaster as the other three Autobots aimed theirs towards the Deception leader.

Megatron stook up rubbing is chin and said, "You really think you can hold me?"

A raining storm of ninja stars flew down from the roof of the hanger, knocking the weapons from the Autobots' hands. Megatron then sent a blast, to clear the way as he grabbed the frozen insecticon and then flew out the hanger doors. Nightbird flew up to join her leader.

A silent form of communication must have gone on between them, because Megatron growled, "That fool!"

He then looked over to where Stormlark and SnowOwl were fighting, only to see that Stormlark was proving the victor. Somehow she got SnowOwl pinned and was now using her ability over electricity to actually drain the pale she-bot.

"You may have won this time, Prime, but you won't enjoy it, "said Megatron as he aimed his cannon and sent a large blast to the two female robots. The flash of light it created when it hit blinded everyone briefly, giving the Decepticons their chance for escape.

The light and dust cleared, revealing two damaged females. "No, "said Skyfire softly as he ran to Stormlark's side. Seeing her melted metal armor already repairing itself, he breathed out a sigh of relief knowing that her nanites were already doing their job. All she needed was enough energy.

Prime knelt down next to the SnowOwl. Her armor tore open, wires sparking slightly and eyes completely dark. Prime shook his head sadly. They may have prevented the Decepticons from getting away with the SnowOwl, but it was obviously she has already been reprogrammed and now badly damaged.

The sound of cane assisted walking broke Prime from his thoughts. He stood up to see Dr. Winhurst standing next to him, looking not at the SnowOwl but at him. "Perhaps there be hope for you Autobots after all, "was all she said and then waved her hand to signal her techs to take the SnowOwl away.

**The End…**

Next time on Flight of the Stormlark

"You have got to be kidding me, "said Mr. Drake, "The Russians got her."


	9. Rise of the FireHawk

**Note: **Yes there is such a thing as miracles! I actually got another chapter up and within a reasonable amount of time. Let us pray and hope this continues. (j/k)

Anyways, you will no doubt notice reading these next few chapters…I've been watching way too much anime lately. I'm trying to keep it honest to the old G1 Transformers style but other robot anime is starting to peek through.

Also, once again please remember that this is taking place in the mid 1980's. The Cold War is still going strong and that any 'company' or 'business' in the old Soviet Union with enough resources to create a Nightbird-like robot is to be considered under the firm control of the government or at least being watched very closely. For those of us who were at that age, just remember how you complained to your parents by saying something along the lines of "What are we, in Russia or something" when we felt that certain rules were unreasonable. And yes, I actually used that line more than once against my parents when I was a kid. It never worked.

Big thanks to Master Solo and once again to Shadir for the reviews and encouragements.

**Chapter Eight: Rise of the FireHawk**

Mr. Art Drake read over Winhurst's report as a video of the battle that took place at Winhurst Castle played on a small television on his desk.

Another robot contaminated, but it proved that the Autobots will try their utmost to protect the project. The damage to the SnowOwl was extensive, but repairable. The problem was the programming. Winhurst will no doubt have to completely remove all computer related hardware and replace it. No chance was going to be taken with just de-programming. Dr. Fujiama already made that mistake, no point repeating it.

At least the Stormlark will soon be back where she belongs…

The phone rang. Drake picked up the phone and said, "Drake here."

(Some barely heard mumbling from the phone)

"What?!" said Drake suddenly standing up.

(Some more mumbling)

"You have got to be kidding me, "said Mr. Drake, "The Russians got her."

(Mumbling)

"Damn it!" said Drake, "Get me Dr. Mikhail on the phone…NOW!"

**(Cold and Dark Room)**

Stormlark's eyes flickered and then lit up. Shaking her head slightly she tried to move only to find that she was bolted down to some sort of table. She looked around but there was a single bright light on the ceiling, just off to the side of the table. Beyond that was it was too dark to see.

"Good afternoon, Stormlark. I do hope your nap was pleasant, "came a heavily Russian accented female voice. Stormlark remained silent as the voice continued, "I will admit. Young Magess' security measures are a work of genius. Such a shame her talent was so under appreciated."

Stormlark didn't say a work and looked straight up.

"Nothing to say? I am so sorry to hear that, since you have so much you could tell me, "came the voice once again, "Such as the secret of your nano-technology…after-all, Ms. Magess, you are the one who literally created it."

"Rachael Magess is dead, "Stormlark replied.

"Oh come now, "said the voice, "You really think I am like those fools in America or Britian? In fact, I've been seriously considering following your example. Transplanting a human mind is oh so much easier than creating one artificially. Don't you agree?"

Stormlark's silence was her answer.

"Here I thought you were the smart one, "tsked the voice, "We never planned to team up with the capitalist pigs, only borrow their technology to create our own robots. And in case you haven't noticed, your nanites make you almost invulnerable. With enough energy, you are literally immortal, "said the voice, "I want that for MY robot."

"Ya' know something, "said Stormlark sounding very much like Racheal, "You're starting to sound like a mad scientist from a really bad movie."

An evil chuckle filled the room.

**(Pendrake Industries)**

"Sorry Mr. Drake, "the secretary's voice rang from the intercom, "Dr. Mikhail's office is not answering his phone."

"Fine, "said Drake with frustration in his voice, "Call Winhurst and find out why the hell did she let Mikhail take Stormlark. Then try Mikhail again."

"Yes, Sir, "the secretary responded, "By the way, Mr. Chase is here to see you."

Drake sighed and rubbed the corners of his eyes feeling the headache coming. "Let him in. I believe I already know why he's here."

A tired and angry Chip Chase rolled into the office. "Why did you authorize…"

"I didn't authorize anything, "interrupted Drake, "Stormlark was to be returned to Pendrake Industries. NOT shipped off to Mikhail's laboratory."

The intercom buzzed. "Yes, "said Drake pressing a button.

"I have word on Dr. Mikail, "came the secretary's voice, "He died in a car accident yesterday morning."

**(Dimly Lit Control Room)**

A shadowy female figure clicked keys on a key board. Through a window, lights lit up revealing another robot. This one was painted a dark red with bronze trim, and not as sleek as the others but having thicker looking armor. A phone buzzed and the shadow picked up the phone. "Yes, General, "she said, "The robot is same as complete except for the AI and possible addition of the nanites. The AI I already have set up, you could say, but the nanites are proving more difficult."

The shadow listed quietly at what the 'General' was telling her.

"General, "said the woman in a voice meant to calm, "There is no need to close the project. I am more than qualified…"

A loud 'squawk' from the phone stopped the woman's speech.

The woman sighed and said, "I will do as you command."

Once the phone was hung up, she then picked it up again and ripped it out of the console to throw it angrily across the room.

"That fool!" she hissed and slammed her hands on the console, "I am so close…"

**(Stormlark's 'Prison')**

After a good while of nothing but silence, sparks started to appear at the bolts holding Stormlark down. Within minutes there was a series of five loud pops. The Stormlark then shook her right arm and broke free of the clamp. She reached over to remove the ones around here waist and left arm. As she was removing the ones at her ankles the light shut off. Not wasting any more time, Stormlark stood up and tried to make out what she could in the darkness. A loud alarm startled her and she automatically went into a defensive stance.

For a moment it seemed that her escape attempt was discovered, but then an announcement rang out in Russian. Stormlark's internal translator translated it to, "All personnel to the control room, repeat, all personnel to control room. Emergency! Emergency!"

Stormlark couldn't believe her luck, but wasn't going to waste it either. She scanned the room with her sensors trying to find a source of energy. Her reserves were dangerously low, and there was no way to manufacture more in this darkness. Seeing that even the power to the lamp was completely cut off, she decided to take a risk and filled her palm with sparks of electricity and held it above her head to light the room in a dim, flickering light.

She found a set of hanger doors and made her way to them. Once there, she turned off the sparks and listened carefully. Mentally making a note for some more upgrades, it was Nightbird that was designed for sneaking around in the dark and listening through keyholes, not Stormlark.

Hearing nothing, she tried pushing one of the doors. To her surprise it slid open easily. Not considering that this was way too easy, she quietly made her way into the dark Siberian forest.

**(Control Room)**

A group of lab coated men and women huddled around the control panel speaking loudly in Russian as if panicked. A pair of guards led by an officer pushed them aside to reveal a tall blonde woman, also in a lab coat, lying unconscious across the console. A still sparking cable laid between her body and the control panel. She was alive, barely breathing and when one of the guards turned her over a strange smile could be seen on her face.

The officer started to yell out what appears to be demands in Russian and the technicians all shook their heads negatively. One of the guards called out and pointed to the window just in time for a wall of fire to melt through the window and engulf the room in flame. The evil chuckle from earlier was barely heard above the screams.

**(Outside)**

Something urged Stormlard to turn and look back at the compound. Seeing smoke rising from it she actually made a few steps back towards it, briefly considering helping those that may be trap.

She quickly changed her mind and turned to continue on her escape, to be nearly knocked down by the explosive blast. Stormlark quickly turn to see that the compound was no longer there and only a smothering ruin.

A whining noise warned her, and she dodged to the side to avoid a small missile fly right by her to slam into a boulder with a small explosion. She raised her arm to protect her eyes from the flying debris as she turned to face the direction that the missile came from.

There on a small hill stood the FireHawk and as Stormlark watched, another missile loaded up into the red robot's raised missile launcher just above her right shoulder.

"Crap, "was all the Stormlark said as she ran, knowing in her weakened state she was no match for her new foe.

**(Autobot Headquarters)**

A small group of Autobots including Optimus Prime, Bumblebee and Jazz watched and listened to Chip Chase's report on Teletran One's monitor.

"Hmmm, "said Prime, "So another contributor to Project: Elements has 'borrowed' Stormlark, without anyone's permission."

"Any chance that ol' Lark went with them willingly?" asked Jazz, "It wouldn't be the first time that gal done something crazy."

"Doubt it, "said Chip, "She was in stasis when it happened. With all that happened, the nanites needed time and energy to finish repairs."

At that time, Teletran One interrupted with an "Alert! Large explosion detected in forested area of Siberia. Possible Decepticon activity."

"Teletran report, "ordered Prime as a picture of the destroyed compound, barely recognizable on what it once might have been, displayed on the monitor, "No sign of the Decepticons…but just in case…"

Once again, Teletran One interrupted with a "Soviet General Tarasov is requesting to speak with Optimus Prime."

Prime pressed a button on Teletran's console and said, "Yes, General Tarasov."

"Comrade Prime, "said the General with just the hint of a Russian accent, "I just thought to inform you there has been a small…mishap at a mining camp in Siberia. A large shipment of mining explosives was inadvertently set off by a careless miner and it is nothing to concern you or the Autobots with. Due to the size of the explosion, we did not wish for you to think it was anything to do with the Decepticons."

"Really, "said Prime with a slightly suspicious tone in his voice, "Is there anyway we can be of assistance?"

"No..no.."said the General with a smile, "We have it well in hand." The screen then went dark.

"You have got to be kiddin' me, "exclaimed Jazz as Chip's face returned to the monitor, "Mining explosives? There is no way Teletran could have mistak'n a mining accident for a Decepticon attack."

"Yeah, Prime, "said Bumblebee, "I say we go check it out."

"No, "said Prime with a sigh, "Until we can prove it is Decepticons or until the Soviets ask for help we can not interfere."

"Oh come on, "said Bumblebee, "It could be Stormlark making a break for it."

"I said no and that's an order, "said Prime sternly, "I don't like it either, but Stormlark is a native of Earth and we must treat her as such. We will abide by the international laws of this planet and not interfere unless asked."

"But…but…"said Bumblebee.

"Guys, he's right, "said Chip, "Entering Soviet territories, even with the best of intentions, might be considered an act of war. Last thing we want is you guys to start World War III."

"World War _Three_?"asked Jazz.

"Perhaps you should take some time and read up on Earth history, "said Prime tiredly.

**(Siberian Forest) **

"Come out, come out where ever you are," the FireHawk sung in metallic sounding version of the strange woman's voice, "Come now Stormlark…are we not now sisters? I will not harm you…if you give me what I want."

The FireHawk raised her arm, from the back of her wrist a nozzle appeared and then sent out a blast of flame. She then fanned her arm to cover the surrounding trees.

"Very well, "said FireHawk, "You will not come willingly, I will just have to burn you out."

(**Not too far away)**

Stormlark hid under a small overhang of rock, trying to conserve as much energy as possible until sunrise. She knew that even with the sun, she would need time to build up her energy reserves but at least she would have a chance. She could also derive some energy from the fires that FireHawk was starting, but that would only help some and she would have to get uncomfortably close to the same robot she was hiding from.

Hopefully, the FireHawk was not given the same sensor technology as she was. She shouldn't have since the sensors were added after the original blueprints were shared among the partnering companies.

As she waited for the sunrise, Stormlark considered her opponent. The FireHawk was to be the heavy hitter of the Elements, the front line fighter and tank. Due to that she was to be designed with actual firearms and heavier armor. From what little Stormlark has seen FireHawk has already gone beyond those specs. For one, like all the Elements, there was to be no voice modulator. Each Element, although free ranging, was to have a human 'partner' who was to be the robot's speaker. Also, the FireHawk seems to have a larger power source than her size would indicate. How the damn bot was still walking after using up so much energy, was a real concern.

Nanites was not the answer so that left two other options, a Cybertronian power booster like Nightbird's or the idiots put a damn nuclear engine in. Stormlark could only hope that somehow…someway the Soviets got hold of a power booster, otherwise she would have to be extremely careful how and where she fought the FireHawk.

A rumble of thunder shook Stormlark from her thoughts. Carefully she stood up looked around her small shelter. In the distance sky, lighting flickered across some barely seen clouds followed a few moments later with another rumble of thunder.

Stormlark nodded her head firmly and clenched a fist as she considered something so crazy, it might just work.

**The End…**

Next Time on Flight of the Stormlark…

FireHawk walk through the burning forest, barely noting the falling rain that tried valiantly to douse the flames. A burning tree fell and crashed to the ground in front of her. The war-bot moved to kick it out of the way when a flash of lighting struck followed by an energy charged purple fist.


	10. Fury of the Storm

Chapter Ten:

**Chapter Ten: Fury of the Storm **

There was a blinding flash of lighting, accompanied by an earthshaking crash of thunder. As the light fades a faint female outline can be seen standing on a small hill. Blue trim just bright enough to be a seen fraction of a second longer than the dominate purple. She stood there, face upward and arms to the side as if enjoying the rain pouring down her face. In a sense she was. The water was helping to ensure that the electricity in the air was spreading to each and every nanite on the surface of her skin. It was almost like taking energy bath. Soon the bath will become a feast. True the nanites in on her skin were being feed and in turn feeding her, but it was too slow for what she needed if she was to be ready to face a foe specifically designed and made for head on combat.

Where she was made to repair and empower with combat being considered a secondary function. So far she has done well. The combination of her human born intellect and the programmed in combat skills have proven effective against another fighter, but one made more for stealth and attacking from behind. Her one other previous opponent has been designed more for seeking out possible adversaries that might set up bases or hide in less than hospitable environments and only to fight if she, herself was discovered.

The figure shook her head slightly as she considered that there was yet another 'sister' after this one to consider. Will she prove friend or foe?

"I miss the days of being an only child, "Stormlark said out loud as her wing bands unfolded and the energy feathers started to form. Crossing some fingers, she then flew upward into the electrified clouds above.

**(Scene Change)**

A small squadron of Mi-8 Soviet helicopters flew low over the burning forest. On one rode one that did not fit with the other soldiers. Although he wore the same uniform, it was a slightly better fit and had a few more decorations.

The pilot glanced over nervously at General Tarasov, then a warning alarm rang out and some lights starting flashing. The pilot quickly forced the helicopter to the right just narrowly avoiding the incoming missile that hit one of the other helicopters instead. The damaged Mi-8 exploded into a ball of flame and a crackling laugh rang through their headphones.

"Now, General, I can't let you take away my fun so soon, "a woman's voice said in Russian through their headphones as another missile took down a second helicopter.

"Sophia! I command you turn off the robot now!" the General ordered in Russian.

"So now I'm Sophia again, Stepan? Last night I was a lowly doctor assistant you called Petrova, "the woman responded, "It's of no matter. Following my _older sister's _example…Sophia Petrova is dead. Now there is only the FireHawk!" A large blast of flame rose up from the burning forest fire below and nearly engulfed the helicopter.

The General growled a retreat to save what was left of the squadron. As the helicopters turned, he considered his options. There was no way he could ask for assistance without saving face. This was HIS project!

"Sir, "the pilot said, "There seems to be someone trying to contact us on another frequency."

"Change the frequency to match, "the General ordered and then once the pilot made the adjustment, "Report."

Stormlark's voice came through, speaking Russian with an American accent, "I have a proposition for you."

"Who are you and what could you possibly offer me?" replied the General.

"I'll take care of my _younger sister_,"Stormlark said the last sarcastically, "And even return what is left of her for your research. In return I want open skies to Alaska."

Now knowing who was speaking, he considered his options. If Stormlark won, he would save face and still be able to continue his research. If nothing else, the FireHawk's ability to chase off a squadron of military helicopters was proof of its effectiveness. The current problem being caused by leaving it in the wrong hands for too long. He even saw allowing Stormlark to return to the States would be a step in getting back into the good graces of the other contributors of Project Elements.

If the Stormlark lost, she would have no doubt at least weakened the FireHawk to the point normal military can take her down with minimum causalities. He could then blame the whole mess on Petrova, saying she forged the orders to acquire the Stormlark to begin with. He would still have the FireHawk's remains and a chance to collect some of those nanites before handing over Stormlark's remains to Pendrake Industries.

It was a Win-Win situation for him. The General smiled and said, "I agree to your terms."

"In that case, "Stormlark said, "I would suggest you get everyone out of the area…for their own safety."

**(Scene Change)**

FireHawk walk through the burning forest, barely noting the falling rain that tried valiantly to douse the flames. A burning tree fell and crashed to the ground in front of her. The war-bot moved to kick it out of the way when a flash of lighting struck followed by an energy charged purple fist.

The hit threw FireHawk back to land backwards into the ground creating a long groove in the dirt and soot. Not giving her a chance to recover, Stormlark quickly flew over and grabbed her to take off high up into the stormy sky.

"FireHawk shook the stunned confusion the punch caused off and raised her arm to aim her flameblower to Stormlark's face. "Oh, no you don't, "Stormlark said as she turned in mid-air and threw FireHawk to the distant ground, "You may be a tank on the ground lets see how well you…"

A rocket nozzle opened up on FireHawk's backpack and lit, saving her from the fall. She then flew off a distance at high speed and turned.

"Oh come on!" exclaimed Stormlark just before flying upward into the storm clouds.

FireHawk's rocket being faster, if less agile than Stormlark's energy wings, the fiery robot quickly closed the distance between the two. Stormlark dived straight down, barely dodging the attack.

Once again FireHawk started to make a large arc in order to turn but this time fired a pair of missiles that headed straight to Stormlark.

Stormlark dodge left and then right like a humming bird, avoiding the missiles. The missiles then turned, their trails crossing, to continue following their target their target. Stormlark raced straight towards FireHawk and just before reaching her, shot upwards. The missiles passed below, locked on to a new target.

Stormlark called out, "Not very smart using _heat_ seekers, _Fire_Hawk."

FireHawk realizing her error, tried to roll out of the way but the missile's easily followed her heat trail and slammed into her. A ball of flame lit up the dark clouds…from which a slightly singed FireHawk raced out and slammed fists first into Stormlarks midsection.

Stormlark's wings flickered and she fell as her nanites concentrated on repairing the damage. FireHawk flew upward to turn and followed hoping to finish off her opponent before the repairs were completed.

The purple robot's wings lit up brightly as Stormlark pulled out and extended her staff. She held the staff like a baseball bat and when FireHawk got close enough cracked across her face, causing FireHawk to suddenly start spinning out of control as Stormlark dropped the remains of her now shattered staff.

Once again, Stormlark raced to follow. As if the weather cheered her on, the lighting suddenly starting flashing all around her as sparks from the large amounts of free energy started to flash across her skin, she neared her foe for the final blow…only to be met by FireHawk's foot in her face.

FireHawk had regained control just in time to be able to use a control spin to forcibly kick Stormlark.

Stormlark started to fall and this time it was FireHawk turn to chase, only this time to catch Stormlark in mid-air and to smash her into the hill Stormlark previously stood on.

FireHawk flew a short distance and landed. She watched Stormlark shake off the damage and stand as the damage started to repair itself before here eyes.

"Magnificent, "FireHawk said as she slowly walked towards Stormlark, "The nanites you help create are a work of genius. I MUST have them!"

"Then come and get them, "said Stormlark as she sprinted forward and tackled FireHawk.

FireHawk punched Stormlark hard in the face forcibly knocking her away. FireHawk then stood up and punched again knocking Stormlark to the ground. The dark red robot then kicked the purple one in the torso, causing it to cave in.

"Farewell, Stormlark, "said FireHawk as she raised her foot above Stormlark's head, "I guess I'm just going have to figure out the nanites from what is left on your remains."

FireHawk froze in place, unable to move. "What!?" the robot said as she fell to the side.

Stormlark stood up painfully and said through a now broken voice modulator, "You…wanted…zzzt…nanitesssss….I gave you some. They…do, do, do…what I, I, I, I…want them to do."

"No, "FireHawk whispered as her eyes flickered, but then they once again flared up, "You shall not leave here alive!"

Stormlark's sensors picked us a strong energy spike around FireHawk's core. "Don't do, do, do….this, "said Stormlark as her voice modulator started to repair, "You don't want to do this FireHawk!"

FireHawk laughed as her eyes dimmed and then went silent. Knowing there was no way she was going to out race the explosion in her half repaired state even with the nanites working as well as they are, she knelt down by the prone robot and sent even more nanites into FireHawk to help remove some of the armor to see if there was a way to stop the self-destruct mechanism.

General Tarasov voice sudden came through Stormlark's communicator. Speaking in English he said, "We show that FireHawk's self-destruct system has been activated. Is she contained?"

"If being paralyzed but about ready to blow up in a nuclear explosion is your definition of 'contained' then yes she is, "said Stormlark as she continued to work, "You wouldn't happen to know who to turn off the self-destruct mechanism by any chance?"

"Of course, I do, "said General, "but that information was not part of our agreement."

"Helloooo, "said Stormlark as she finally got the chest piece off of FireHawk, "She's gonna blow up and take a nice size chunk of the Soviet Union with her."

"Empty wasteland, "said the General dismissively, "The whole area has been deserted for years. That is why we chose the location for the research facility…just in case there was an accident."

"What do you want?"said Stormlark as she continued to work as the storm died off.

"Just a small item of interest, "said the General, "The secret of your nano-technology."

"Forget it, "said Stormlark as she continued to work.

"Then good luck, "said the General, "Just call me if you change your mind."

Stormlark finally found the mechanism, but noticed there was no way obvious way to safely deactivate or remove it without a risk of a pre-mature explosion. She sent her nanites in deeper as she ran a cable from her wrist and attached it to FireHawk's in the hopes of accessing some recorded information on how to stop the process.

So engrossed in her work, she failed to notice the sound of incoming jets but the sudden explosion behind her changed that.

"What do you know, "said Megatron hovering in mid-air as Thundercracker and Skywarp landed on either side of the females, "Two birds with one stone."

Stormlark pulled back the cable and secretly opened her communicator as she stood up. She could only hope that the General would hear that the Decepticons were here and call the Autobots. The nanites no longer working on accessing FireHawks systems, concentrated fully on repairing Stormlark as she planned on how to get out of this mess.

**The End…**

Next Time on Flight of the Stormlark…

Megatron grabbed Stormlark by the chin to force her to look directly into his red, glowing eyes, "Now what to do with you?"


	11. Not so Silent Eyes

**Note: **I am so sorry for the major (years) delay. I thought I posted this before things got busy so I wasn't worried about getting next chapter up since it starts a new arc. Just finished reading the story as posted to refresh memory to start work on next few chapters and that's when I notice my major mistake. Please, please forgive me.

**Chapter 11: Not So Silent Eyes**

"You are aware that this whole area is about to go nuclear?" said Stormlark, whose arms were being held by the two Decepticon jets.

"Oh yes, "said Megatron, "I'm quite aware of the situation.

Soundwave knelt down next to the FireHawk and a single cable came out of his wrist to attach the same way Stormlark had hers connected just moments ago. As Soundwave worked, Megatron continued, "Your conversation with the General was extremely enlightening but the fight…that was a true sight to see. You will both make fine Decepticons."

"Megatron, "said Soundwave, "The FireHawk's self destruct protocol has been terminated."

"And her status?" demanded Megatron.

"FireHawk has been infested by nanites which has disabled all her motor functions, "reported Soundwave, "Aside from the nanites, there is only minor damage."

"Good, "said Megatron with a smirk, "See that she is prepared for transportation and determine what can be done in regards to the nanites."

Megatron then took a few steps towards Stormlark and grabbed her by the chin to force her to look directly into his red, glowing eyes, "Now what to do with you?"

With a loud crackle and snap, electric sparks cascaded down the she-bot's skin shocking all three Deceptions just enough to force them to let go.

Megatron quickly backhanded her, knocking her to the ground. "See that she is secure, "he ordered.

The jets moved to follow Megatron's orders but they were then knocked down by an explosion.

"What? Who dares?" growled Megatron as four Migs flew over head and three more explosions landed around the group. He then turned towards the fallen Stormlark, "You led them here. I suggest you call them off before…"

"Me…call them off, "said Stormlark, "I'm from the States. They hate me more than they hate you."

"Don't worry, Megatron, "said Skywarp as he and Thundercracker transformed, "A few Earth jets are no match for us."

"Megatron, "said Soundwave, "Heavy ground forces approaching from the Northwest."

"Blast, "said Megatron, "Secure the females, as I deal with these worthless flesh creatures."

Stormlark rubbed the side of her face where Megatron hit her as Soundwave grabbed her other arm to pull her up. "Resistance is futile, "said the Decepticon.

A strong shock of electricity forced Soundwave to let go and knocked him to the ground. Stormlark wasted no time to run as spread her wings to take off. Soundwave stood up and his eyes flashed briefly as he decided what to do next. He turned to prepare the FireHawk for transport.

**(With the Autobots)**

"Thank you, General, for informing us of the situation, "said Prime looking up at a monitor, "We are already on the way."

Jazz grumbled as the monitor went blank, "There wouldn't have been a situation if they let us go get Stormlark in the first place."

"That's enough, Jazz, "said Prime as he sat down in a large chair, "How much longer until we get there, Skyfire?"

"Not long, Prime, "came the jet's voice, "I going full out the whole way. Just be ready to jump. From what the General said, I don't believe the locals are going to be very welcoming."

"What's the matter, "joked Jazz just when an alarm started to go off, "Afraid of a few…"

"Incoming!" Skyfire yelled out as he rolled to avoid an incoming missile. The sounds of "Whoa!" "Watch it!" and "What the…" filled the passenger bay.

"Let me guess, "said Mirage, who then said imitating a movie he saw recently, "We're heeeeeeere."

"We got to jump. Now! "said Prime getting to his feet.

Skyfire dived straight down and then straightened out to open his cargo doors. Prime, Mirage and Jazz jumped out, free falling to Earth. The jet then raced off and spun in mid air dodging multiple missiles which exploded all around him.

The Migs then sent another pair of missiles towards the Autobot jet and two more were sent towards the Decepticons.

"This is insane!" said Skyfire, "I'm …" More near miss explosions covered what he was going to say.

Stormlark, seeing the Autobots streaked towards where Prime and the others were landing.

As he landed, Mirage said, "I say we just get ole' Lark and head on back home. It's obvious we're not welcomed here."

"Perhaps, but we can't leave FireHawk with the Decepticons, "said Prime as he lifted up his weapon.

"Perhaps, "Stormlark said as she neared the Autobots. Her wings still spread, she said, "That's exactly we want to do."

"Stormlark!" Prime yelled as she turned to fly off.

The she-bot flew close to the ground, using her agility to dodge obstacles and explosions alike. As she neared her target, the energy wings suddenly died and folded back up. Stormlork struck Soundwave on the back of the head with the full force of her flight, and then landed with a roll, ending up kneeling next to FireHawk as Soundwave fell to the ground unconscious.

"I'm so going to regret this, "Stormlark said to herself as she held single hand just inches from FireHawk's forehead. The eyes of both robots flickered, first slowly and then quickly as sparks raced from the Stormlark's hand to the FireHawk's forehead.

FireHawk's eyes flared up bright as the fiery robot sat up with a growl.

Stormlark got up and stood in a defensive stance, waiting for FireHawk to regain her bearings. The red and bronze robot stood up shakily to glare at her purple and blue sister. "Why did you release me?" the Soviet robot demanded.

"To give you a choice, "answered Stormlark, "Join me and do what you were created to do which is to defend and protect the Earth or join the forces that is currently the biggest threat to it. Don't think you can go solo, there is no way you're getting out of here without help."

"I can safely assume you're planning on going with the Autobots, "said FireHawk, "The second biggest threat to the Earth…hmmm."

Stormlark gave a shrug, "They may be a threat, but they're a reasonable one."

**(Back with the Autobots)**

Jazz said, "What the heck is she doing?"

"I'm more concern with what she is planning, "said Prime. He then added as he started to run over to the females, "Cover me!"

"Cover you?, "exclaimed Jazz, "The only ones firing on us are human!"

**(With some of the Decepticons)**

Soundwave recovered from the hit to see a fully awake FireHawk. Still groggy from the hit, he activated his communicator, "Megatron. FireHawk is awake. Stormlark is attempting to communicate with her."

A distance away, Megatron heard the call and after sending one final blast to knock over a tank he turned to see his injured right-hand bot and the two females standing. With a smirk, he flew up and then over towards them.

"It's so nice to finally see you awake, dear FireHawk, "said Megatron as he landed.

"Back off, Megatron!" said Prime walking towards them as he cocked his blaster.

"My, my, my…I never felt so popular…the Soviets wants me…the would be Elements want me…the Decepticons want me…and now it seems so do the Autobots. Tell me Stormlark, how do I choose, "said FireHawk, "I already know what awaits me if I go with the Soviets. What do the Elements have to offer?"

Stormlark remained silent.

"Thought so, "said FireHawk who then turned to face the Decepticons, "And…Megatron, is it? What do the Decepticons offer?"

"Power, "said Megatron firmly, "The means to destroy all who would stand in your way. Swear allegiance to me and you will walk the road to conquest of the universe."

"Don't do it, "said Prime.

"Oh really, "said FireHawk as she turned to face Optimus Prime with crossed arms and tilted hips, "And what is your offer.

"Join them and you become little more than a pawn in a tyrant's insane plans. Destroying innocent lives…"

FireHawks laughter put a halt to Prime's small speech. She then said, "Innocent lives? There is no such thing as innocence only naivety."

Large blasts close by, shook the ground and cause a rain of debris to rain down on the robots.

"So my choices are servitude with power or servitude with no power, "said FireHawk as debris fell around them. She then raised her arm and aimed her wrist flamethrower at Optimus Prime, "The Decepticons have the better offer…nothing personal."

Megatron smirked as he aimed his own cannon towards Stormlark and added, "My offer still stands…join us."

Stormlark remained silent and stared straight into the Decepticon's eyes. Her answer, even without words, was perfectly clear. Megatron sneared and said, "I should destroy where you stand, but thanks to you I have a new warrior."

Prime prepared to fire, but was stopped by Stormlark's hand landing on the nozzle. She said a single word, "Nightbird."

"Yes, Prime. You don't want to do to FireHawk what you did to poor Nightbird, "said Megatron sarcastically, "Hand her over to your human allies, only to end up being buried alive or worse."

Prime lowered his gun as his eyes dimmed slightly. The Autobot sighed as if in surrender and then said, "Just go."

Megatron flew upwards and called out, "Decepticons! Mission accomplished!" He then turned and said to FireHawk, "Follow me."

As the Decepticons and FireHawk flew off, Jazz ran over to Prime and Stormlark and asked, "We're just going them go?"

Prime looked up, watching the bright light that was the FireHawk fire trail and said, "Yes. She made her choice."

"Choice?"

"Yes. Sadly it was the wrong one, "said Prime who then activated his communicator, "Skyfire, it's time to get out of here before we wear out our welcome."

The Autobots jogged over to where the jet was heading in for a landing. Once they were out of earshot, Stormlark looked up in the direction FireHawk flew off in and whispered, "Perhaps it was the right choice for her."

**(Pendrake Industries, Stormlark's hanger)**

"I can't believe this!" yelled Art Drake, "You let those things fly off with FireHawk!

Stormlark stood silent in her repair harness, as the ranting company president paced in front of her.

"We gave you a voice module and yet you have nothing to say for yourself!" snarled Drake.

Silence.

"Don't you dare…"

"Mr. Drake, "came Chip Chase's voice over the intercom, "You have got to see this."

Drake grumbled as he made his way to the new lift that raised him to the newly repaired control room.

Chip was sitting there chuckling and shaking his head in amazement at what he saw on the monitor as Drake entered the room.

"What's so important that…,"Chip turned the monitor around and Drake's tone changed from one of anger to amazement, "Holy…How?"

On the monitor, was a shaky but still clear picture of Megatron apparently giving orders to a pair of Constructicons.

Chip said, "There is also audio included in the signal but I haven't gotten the speaker's hooked up yet."

"How?" Drake asked again but then it dawned on him, "Nanites."

"That's the only way I can figure it, 'said Chip, "Some how, Lark re-programmed some nanites to hack into FireHawk visual and audio receptors. We can hear and see everything she does."

**The End…**

**Next time on Flight of the Stormlark…**

(Jaw's theme style)

"Kreeeemmmzek!...Kreeeemmmzek!...Zek! Zek! Zek! Zek! Zek! Zek! Zek! Zek! KREEEEMZEK!"


	12. Cover Up

**Note:**Yay! Another chapter. BTW before you ask, how Nightbird tamed her little pet is a secret. Might create a side story to this one to explain it, or maybe not.

I do not own Transformers and I make no money from this, but I do accept cookies. *looks at frowning lawyer* Never mind, I can't accept cookies either.

**Chapter 12: Cover Up  
**  
Megatron, sitting in his command chair, leaned forwarded and said, "Are you certain, Soundwave?"

"Affirmative, "Soundwave replied, "The robot has been located and construction is almost complete. All it lacks is programming."

Megatron smirked as he leaned back into his chair. In a pleased voice, he said, "Excellent. We are more than capable of providing the programming. Aren't we my dear?"

Nightbird stepped out shadows. It was obvious that she has gone through some changes. Nightbird was now sleeker, stealthier and her dark grey color shined less but added black lines which gave her a vest, shorts and boot like outlines reflected some light. The purple Decepticon emblem, still emblazoned over her left breast. Her mask split open and slide back into her 'helmet' to reveal the bottom half of her face that include a mouth. She said with a cold but sultry voice, "Definitely, Megatron."

"Soundwave, continue watching our target and notify me of any changes, "Megatron ordered and then in a gentler tone, "Nightbird, I have a special assignment for you."

On the other side of command center's sealed doors, FireHawk leaned back against a wall as Starscream paced in between her and the door. "Calm down, Starscream, "FireHawk said with her Russian accent, "It's common for those in power to keep their minions separate when giving out important assignments. The more isolated you are, the more secret and important your assignment is going to be. Or he's planning to make you disappear." FireHawk gave a small shrug and then added, "But Megatron doesn't seem to be the type to worry about public opinion or witnesses, so you should have nothing to worry about since he wouldn't bother with a private meeting to kill you."

Starscream growled as he continued pacing. He knew the she-bot was right, but his last meeting with Megatron was not pleasant. His attempt at hijacking the SnowOwl for himself did not go over well with his 'mighty' leader. Combine the SnowOwl incident with his shooting Nightbird has put him on the top of Megatron's blacklist. If Nightbird continues as she is and if FireHawk proves as useful, it may lead to Starscream no longer being needed. Even his own fliers were starting to see that, that NIGHTBIRD as someone to look up to, especially since the fighting techniques she's been teaching them proved so effective against the Autobots. Starscream didn't dare to even consider deviating from Megatron's orders at this point. If the 'mighty' leader ordered him to go out and kiss that little yellow Autobot on the tailpipe he would have to do it or die trying.

The door slide open as Nightbird and Soundwave stepped out. Without even acknowledging either Starscream or FireHawk, Nightbird turned and continued walking down the hall. Soundwave stopped and said, "Megatron will see both of you now."

"Come, Starscream, "said FireHawk giving the Decepticon jet and heavy pat on the back nearly knocking him down, "Let's us go see what our glorious leader has in store for us today."

"I hate you, "hissed Starscream to FireHawk's back.

**(Pendrake Industries, Stormlark's hanger)**

"…are to attack the Antarctic facility and retrieve the SnowOwl, "Megatron's voice came from the computer's speakers, "Use whatever means you find necessary. This mission is not only to acquire the SnowOwl, but to prove your worth and loyalty. Kill every single human there if you need to. Just bring me the SnowOwl!"

A kneeling Stormlark, stood up and walked away as she crossed her arms. "That makes no sense, "said Stormlark, "Why would Megatron send those two as co-leads for something so important. As a test?"

"No idea, "said Chip, "But then I never claimed to be any good at trying to figure out how Megatron thought. I'm going to send word to both Prime and Dr. Winhurst to let them know of the incoming attack.

Stormlark looked out the open hanger doors and sighed, "At least we know they're not going to sneak in…FireHawk is not the subtle type."

At that moment, the upstairs lab lights turned on and door leading to the elevator opened allowing Art Drake and Dr. Merv Mages to enter the elevator. Stormlark gave the elevator her full attention as is went down and opened. "Ah, Mr. Chase, "said Mr. Drake, "Just the person we needed to see. By any chance do you have access to Racheal's last AI files?"

"I…"Chip glanced at Stormlark who gave a brief nod and then stepped into her harness as he said, "Yeah, let me check." As Chip typed away and started searching through the files, Dr. Magess walked up to Stormlark and looked at her with sad eyes. "If only my niece was still alive, "he said, "She would have been so proud with how well the Stormlark is doing."

"Wha.."Chip started to say only to be stopped by a firm hand on his shoulder. The boy looked up and saw Mr. Drake shake his head to silently say 'No.' The computer beeped and the files he was looking for popped up on their own "Huh, found the files. Not sure if these were her very last notes, but they are the latest ones in these and the Stormlark's records. Would you like me to send them somewhere or put them on floppy?"

"Floppy, please. Since Rachael is not longer…,"Magess' eyes started to water and he forced himself to take a deep breath, "I don't really trust…let's just say there's proof of one or more hacker attempts recently and I rather have it on floppy so I can take it with me to study on my secure computer."

"You sure you want to get back to work, Merv?" said Mr. Drake, "If you need more time…"

"No, "said Dr. Magess, "Sitting around doing nothing only gives me more time to think about 'what-if.' The best thing for me now is to get back to work."

Chip pulled out a floppy from the drive and handed it to the scientist. "Here you go, Sir. I hope it helps."

"Thank you, Chip, "said Magess, "You were always a good friend to my niece. In spite of hanging out with those Autobots."

Once Dr. Magess left the building, Chip looked at Mr. Drake and said, "Ok, that was weird. I though Dr. Magess knew about…"

"Knew about what?" said Stormlark in a firm voice as she stepped out of the harness and started walking towards the hanger doors, "Rachael Magess is dead. Let the man mourn his lost family in peace." Her wings flared, brighter than normal and she took off into the darkening sky.

Art Drake sighed and said, "Sorry you had to see that Mr. Chase, but Dr. Magess was insistent that he had to come to get the files himself. My guess he wanted to see what he considers his niece's last bit of work up close one more time."

"I thought he knew that…well…that Rachael is now Stormlark."

"Is she?" said Drake with a raised eyebrow and pulled up a chair to sit down, "No, I agree with you. There is no other way for Stormlark to be as she is. If nothing else, what happened with Sophia Petrova and FireHawk gives credence, but Rachael was working on a way to copy a person's personality and use it as a base for a true A.I."

"Stormlark is not a copy!" yelled Chip, and he would have stood up if he could, "Stormlark is Rachael! I know it! I seen this happen before, Spike.."

"Calm down, I agree with you, "said Drake holding up both hands as if in surrender, "But that is the story that we are going by. That Stormlark's AI is a copy of Rachael's personality that was being used for testing and then uploaded to the Stormlark as an emergency measure by Rachael during that Decepticon attack that ended up killing her. And before you ask, it's to prevent another possible FireHawk. If word got out, how long will it take for someone to try to create a robot body to specifically transfer their mind into for either the power or the virtual immortality? What are the odds of them keeping what little sanity they have if they do so? Remember your friend Spike. I read the file. Even with a body modified for a human mind, he lost his sanity and when he regained it they had to be very careful for him to keep it until his mind was returned to his body. How Stormlark retained hers, I have no idea. For all we know, she may have lost it for a while in the beginning. She wasn't acting like herself at the time but that may have been just the shock of the mind transfer. The only ones that know that Rachael is now Stormlark are the ones that figured it out on their own. Not even the heads of the other Project Elements teams have been told and believe me it would be a whole lot easier on me if I would just tell them. They're still mad that I 'lost' how Stormlark's AI was made. Why Dr. Magess hasn't figured it out…maybe its denial. Who knows?"

**(Autobot Headquarters)**

Just as they were finishing watching the recording that Chip sent them, Ironhide asked, "What do you make of it, Prime?"

"I think I feel a headache coming on, "said Autobot leader and then he pressed a button on Teletrans's keyboard, "Skyfire, prepare for another trip. Wheeljack, I need you and the Dinobots ready for some cold weather fighting that will definitely involve massive fire attacks."

"What?" Wheeljack's voice could be barely heard echoing through the base.

"Let me at em, Prime!" growled Ironhide, "I'll go and drag that dang she-bot back…"

"No, Ironhide, "said Prime, "This smells like a diversion. The Dinobots should be more than enough to deal with FireHawk with the others dealing with Starscream. I need you and the rest of us to be ready…just in case."

**(Pendrake Industries)**

Late that night, Pendrake Industries slept. Most of the office lights were turned off and the only people around were the security guards with their dogs. A soft, "Kreeeemmmzek!" could be heard in the night air. The dogs started to bark furiously as the guards fought to hold them back. "Whoever is out there, show yourself!" Ordered one of the guards and he pulled out his energy rifle. Again, "Kreeeemmmzek!" was heard. The guards let the dogs go and they raced towards the sound. "Zek! Zek! Zek! Zek! Zek! Zek! Zek! Zek" could be heard, getting louder as if the source was running towards them. "What the..." said one guard as he's saw a bright, yellow shark-like tip appear just above the grass and raced towards them. "KREEEEMZEK!, "the living, yellow spark screamed as he jumped out of the grass and into the energy rifle. The weapon started smoking and then arched electricity to the three guards, shocking them into unconsciousness. As they fell, Kremzek jumped out of the rifle and when he landed started doing a little dance. The two dogs circled the strange creature, growling. Kremzek gave a little, 'oh oh' sound and started shaking his 'knees.' A large dark grey foot landed in front of the creature and the dogs started to back up as they looked at the new invader. NightBird's eyes flashed scaring off the dogs. Kremzek stuck his tongue out towards the dogs as they ran off and then started dancing happily around Nightbird's foot for a few seconds. Nightbird's eyes seem to smile briefly, but then flickered. Kremzek looked up with a 'hur?" and then gave the classic 'OK' hand sign before racing off through an opening in the fence. A few minutes later, every single light was shut off as the other guards started loudly grouching about the electric company.

Nightbird quietly ran and jumped over the fence to only disappear in the darkness.

In her harness, Stormlark eyes were dark as if she was sleeping but they flickered briefly as the hanger door opened with a slight hiss and a dark feminine shadow walked in without a sound. The door closed behind her back, as Nightbird pulled out her energy sword. Walking towards her apparently off-line sister, Nightbird raised her sword and just as she was within striking distances Stormlark eyes lit up bright amber just before her entire skin lit up in bright white light. Blinded Nighbird continued the strike, only to cut through the charging harness. A sharp kick to the back of her legs, forced her to her knees but she was able to grab the fists that were attempting to strike her on the back of the head and toss Stormlark into the wall. Eyes flickering as she tried to regain her sight, Nightbird stood up and walked back. "You picked the wrong night for a visit, "growled Stormlark and she sent a ball of electricity towards the ninja. "KREEMZEK!" the yellow spark flew from one of the overhead light fixtures to catch and absorb the ball of electricity before it struck his mistress. Somewhat larger, the spark landed and gave a loud 'Mmm…mmm!' before running off into a power outlet.

'What the hell?' Stormlark thought, just as Nightbird used the distraction to toss three small spheres to the ground that broke open releasing massive amounts of dark, oily smoke that filled the room. Now the blinded one, Stormlark tried to use her other sensors but something in the smoke was causing them to show nothing but solid darkness or static. Stumbling over Chip's computer desk, she made her way to the hanger door and opened it to let the smoke out. As she tried to rub the oily film from her eyes, Stormlark walked a few steps outside and sat on the ground. The lights finally came on, followed by loud alarms. "Now they go off, "growled Stormlark. Something struck her on the head, bouncing off landed right next to her. Due to the oily coating, she could only see a small silver blur on the ground where it landed. "Zek, zek, "came familiar voice, causing Stormlark to stand and turn to look towards the roof to see a familiar grey form, with a yellow blob on her should, wave before flying off.

Bending over, she felt around and picked up the silver blur to feel a familiar cube shape. Standing up straight with the cube in the palm of her hand, Stormlark said, "Let me guess…message delivered."

**The End…**

Next Time on Flight of the Stormlark…

"You're just what I like in my men; dumb, strong as an ox and with a full mouth of teeth, "joked FireHawk as she brought up one of her missile launchers, "It's almost a shame to kill you."

"Me, Grimlock, stronger than any ox, "said the Dinobot, "Me no like you."


	13. Cold War

**Note**: I do not own Transformers…I make no money…Please don't sue.

**Chapter 13: Cold War **

Three figures bundled up for extreme cold, one of which was using a cane to assist with walking, made their way to a small concrete building as a large airplane took off behind them. Once they reached the building one of the figures stepped in front of the cane assisted lead to pull out a small remote and press a button. A light above the door flashed red for a few moments and then the door slide open to reveal an elevator. The trio stepped in and after the door slide shut, they each removed lowered their hoods and pushed down the scarves that covered the lower portion of their faces.

"Blasted cold, "grumbled Dr. Winhurst, "Remind me again why such a god forsake place was selected."

"Security, Dr. Winhurst, "said the dark haired, blue eyed assistance standing to her right as he adjusted his glasses, "And of course its isolated location means that if needed, disposal of certain projects can be done in an efficient and discreet manner."

The elevator doors opened to a platform overlooking a large underground cavern. To the left, rows of mainframes and terminals were placed behind a Plexiglas wall and next to it stood the SnowOwl, in her harness. The SnowOwl's eyes were completely dark and a pair of techs appeared to be running some tests at terminals close to her feet. To the right, chain-link fenced enclosures fill with crates of different sizes and markings from around the world. Yellow and white pathways were outline on the concrete floor, indicating paths where forklifts and people were expected to travel to prevent possible accidents. Straight ahead was a large wall, with hanger doors large enough to let a 747 through with room to spare.

Dr. Winhurst took all this in, as the trio removed their coats and were scanned for recording and tracking devices. Once they were given the clear, they stepped onto a lift to take them to the ground floor. Setting her attention on the second assistant, who seemed to be a twin of the first, and said, "Check with security and make sure that the area is set up to receive the Autobots as well as the Decepticons. I don't need those Autobots mucking about, getting into who knows what. They are to be given minimum access to the SnowOwl and external security. Nothing else."

"At once, Doctor, "the assistant gave a small bow before heading off to a small door in the larger hanger doors.

The woman grumbled about cold weather, aching joints and stupid alien machines as she limped her way to the computer lab. The door to the lab opened and a middle age gentleman walked quickly to meet her part way. In an Indian accent he said, "It is an honor to have you here Dr. Winhurst, I just wish it was under better circumstances."

"Don't bother with pleasantries, Dr. Singh, "Dr. Winhurst said as she continued walking.

Dr. Singh followed and said, "All data has been copied and sent off to Australia. The emergency wipe protocols are also in place in case they get this far. Explosives have also been placed at key locations so that if necessary, the entire cavern can be collapsed. Also, as you know the ground level hanger doors have been sealed."

The remaining assistant opened the door for the scientists and Winhurst made a beeline to the first chair. As she sat, she asked, "And the computer virus?"

Singh sighed and said, "Since we do not have any Decepticons or Autobots to test it on, the safety protocols dictate that it is not worth the risk of it escaping and affecting world data centers. If the virus was proved affective on these alien robots…"

"Blast it, "mutter Winhurst who then said, "I'll take your word for it. The last thing Earth needs now is that computer bug let loose on our own systems. But I want work continued on an anti-virus…just in case."

**(Over the Southern Ocean)**

Sludge gave Slag a 'small' push, which Slag responded by pushing back with a growl. The two Dinobots were just getting ready to start an all out shoving match when Grimlock walked up behind them and bopped them both on their heads. "No fighting in jet, "the Dinobot leader ordered, "Wait until land."

"Awwww, "both Dinobots said, Slag rubbing his head. "We bored,"said Sludge as Snarl just watched in the background looking a little green.

Wheeljack, sitting as far away as he could, pinched the nose bridge between his eyes and sighed tiredly. Sparkplug once said that the Dinobots acted like unruly, extremely powerful children. If this is how human children acted, Wheeljack was very thankful he was an Autobot.

Slag heard the sigh and asked, "What wrong with him?"

Sludge spoke up, "He's just too nerdy."

Slag then said, "Too nerdy for a car?"

Grimlock then added, "Too nerdy by far."

"Whoa," said Slag, "That sounded almost like song. Would write it down…if knew how."

The jet shook slightly as Skyfire laughed, causing Snarl to look even greener. "At least you know it's never boring with them around, "the jet said, "Just please don't start dancing."

A squawk come in through their communicators followed by Swoop's voice, "Let me in! It too cold!"

"Ok guys, "said Wheeljack, "Come back here to give him room. No point falling out either, even though it might make the trip a little more bearable."

The cargo bay door opened up and an ice covered Swoop flew in and transformed as he landed. "Brrrrr" he shook off some ice as the door closed behind him. "Swoop, "said Wheeljack, "Didn't you use the heating bands I gave you?"

"Heating bands?" said Swoop with a look showing deep concentration. He then smiled and said, "Oh! Those things…Me forget."

Wheeljack face palmed and sat down in one of the chairs with a thump.

**(Featureless Snowy Plain in West Antarctica)**

"I hate this world, "growled Starscream as he stood surrounded by penguins looking up at him to watched him shiver.

"Come now, Starscream, "said FireHawk with a voice that seemed to purr, "If you want, I can warm you up."

"I rather have icicles in my afterburners, "He replied in a flat tone.

"Heh," the fiery she-bot shrugged, "How much longer do we have to wait anyways."

Just then, Shrapnel followed by Bombshell and Kickback flew in and transformed as they landed. "Sorry that we are running late, "said Bombshell, "But we had to stop for a…bite to eat."

"And to create a few friends…friends…friends," added Shrapnel as a swarm of Insecticon clones appeared on the horizon.

"It makes no difference, "said Starscream, "Just stick to the plan."

"Agreed, "said Kickback, "Just keep to your end of the bargain."

"Yes, "said Bomshell rubbing his hands, "Any raw materials and toys in this box are ours."

"Everything but the SnowOwl is yours. That is the only reason why I…"Starscream said only to be briefly interrupted by FireHawk 'clearing her throat.' He continued, "The only reason why _I'm_here."

"_Moron_, "FireHawk muttered in Russian as a fist clenched at her side and then said in English, "Well, Comrades…shall we begin" She then started walking away in one direction as the jet and insects flew off in another.

**(Underground Research Lab)**

Alarms filled the cavern as techs raced to their assigned locations and guards with energy rifles raced toward the hanger doors. A voice rang over the intercom, "Insecticons attacking hanger's ground entrance."

"Dr. Winhurst, please, "begged one of her assistants, "It's not safe.."

"What the bloody, blue blazes do you think I'm here for?" exclaimed Winhurst as she grabbed her own rifle, and headed towards the SnowOwl, "I'll be damned if I'll go hide like some scared school girl as those mechanical beasties.."

The roaring sound of fire drowned out Winhurst and the alarms. The elevator door exploded outward, taking part of the cavern wall with it. FireHawk stepped out of the smoke and dust to say, "Ah…Dr. Winhurst I presume."

**(Large Underground Hanger)**

On the other side of the compound, the guards bravely fought off the Insecticon swarm and Starscream as the invaders broke through the hanger doors. The jet gave a high pitch scream as one energy blast cut all the way through his wing and then fired back at the human as he said, "Worthless creatures!"

"This is not good…good…good…"said Shrapnel as he dodged a blast, "These humans..mans…mans…are tougher that normal…mal…mal

Still no match for us! "said Bombshell as he launched a mortar shell towards the ceiling, causing rocks and boulders to fall nearly crushing the defenders. A loud beep followed by FireHawk's voice saying, "Target acquired. Heading to rendezvous point."

The true Insecticons nodded and started to back away, firing as they did. Concentrating on the human defenders, they did not notice the large flying pteranodon flying in through the broken hanger doors and launching a set of missiles towards them. The resulting explosion knocked them across the room. Swoop was soon followed by Sludge and Snarl as they made the way, destroying the Insecticon swarm as they waded through them. Skyfire sent a large blast towards Starscream and said sarcastically, "Long time, no see..old friend!"

Wheeljack somehow made his way through the confusion to help dig out the human defenders. One ran up to him and said, "They got SnowOwl and are going out the back entrance!" To which Wheeljack replied, "Don't worry; the back door is already covered."

**(Back Entrance)**

FireHawk flew up and out of the crater where the elevator entrance once was, dragging SnowOwl behind her. The she-bot landed to get a better grip, but was tackled by a robotic triceratops and forcibly push along the icy ground away from SnowOwl. FireHawk turned and took hold of the horns. Dug in her feet and when that didn't work, ignited her rocked. With a twist, she had Slag on his side. She flew and turned to give him a kick that knocked him a football field length away. A blast of fire hit her in the back, to which FireHawk turned and said, "You have no idea, who you are dealing with."

"Me Grimlock don't care. Me Grimlock still kick your butt." The Dinobot then roared as turned to hit the she-bot with his tail. FireHawk caught the tail and used it to toss the Dinobot into the air. As he fell, one of her missile got him good on the side of the neck.

"You're just what I like in my men; dumb, strong as an ox and with a full mouth of teeth, "joked FireHawk as she brought up another one of her missile launchers, "It's almost a shame to kill you."

"Me Grimlock, stronger than any ox, "said the Dinobot as he stood up and then growled, "Me no like you."

Slag snarled as he got back to his feet. He shook his head and then his horns lit up to send energy beams towards the she-bot. FireHawk dodged the attack, send a pair of missiles response and then turned to send a blast of fire to Grimlock.

**(Hanger)**

At the main entrance, the other Dinobots plowed through the Insecticon swarm as Skyfire challenged the wounded Starscream for the sky. Wheeljack busied himself by helping dig the humans from the rubble, dodging fire from both sides. Frustrated he yelled as he picked up and tossed a boulder to the side, "Learn how to aim, already!"

The guard who spoke earlier said, "Don't bother with us, get the SnowOwl back!"

"Don't worry, "said WheelJack, "Grimlock and Slag are already…"

"Losing, "a soot and dust covered Dr. Winhurst limped forward. She whipped a bit of blood from her forehead as she added, "Two Dinobots are no match for the FireHawk. The most they can do is slow her down at great cost."

**(Back Entrance)**

Slag laid half buried in the broken and partially melted ice. Unmoving save for the occasional groan, one horn was broken off and part of his frill was bent in the way that it covered one eye. Not that far away, FireHawk and Grimlock fought hand to tooth. She slammed a fist into the side of this head; he turned to send his tail into her side. FireHawk mentally cursed the time it took to get up speed with her rocket, but she knew that once she got going she was the same as unstoppable. The problem was that every time she tried to take off, the seconds that took her to do it this blasted creature would catch her in his teeth and throw her into the ground. Her weapons seem to have little effect on him so now she was limited to brute force. Fortunately, brute force was one thing she was very, very good at. Grimlock attempted to bite her head off, as she dodged the attack she sent a sharp kick in to his midsection, then hit him so hard with an uppercut he flew up and almost back flipped, landing on his head. Grimlock saw starts as he tried to get up but then darkness came was FireHawk stomped him on the back of the head.

"_Finally_, "FireHawk said in Russian as she sent a kick to the side of his face, "_Stupid thing you cost me too much time!_" She then walked over the picked up SnowOwl and continued in Russian, "_Come now, Sister. I do hope that you are worth the headache you are causing everyone._" FireHawk backpack opened up and out came her rocket. The rocket lit up and the she-bot with cargo took off. Just when she was finally building up some speed, a loud "Sqaaaaa" gave her just enough warning to spin out of the way of a dive-bombing Swoop. She send a missile towards the flying Dinobot and it hit hard enough to put Swoop into a falling spin, which he recovers just feet from the ground.

FireHawk's communicator lit up and Starscream's voice came through, "Where are you?"

After saying "_Moron_" in Russian, she said in English, "I'm being harassed by this..this…Dinobot. I have SnowOwl and trying to get to the open water now." She then rolled to avoid another swooping attack. Energy blasts struck the flying Dinobot just after he passed FireHawk. Swoop fell to the ground far below and crashed. "Go!" yelled Starscream with a smoking wings and as he streaked across the sky followed by SkyFire, "Get that bot back to base! I'll hold them off!" He turned and raced to face SkyFire head on with a battle cry.

FireHawk saluted and increased the rocket's burn. What she may lack in agility and quickness, she more than made up for over all speed and power. After a few seconds to get up there, she was off and over the horizon.

**(Underground Lab)**

"Damn it!" exclaimed WheelJack after hearing from SkyFire, "She got away. Dr. Winhurst do you have SnowOwl's tracking frequency?"

Winhurst was already typing away at a terminal and didn't bother to look up as she responded, "Already tracking her. Get word to your leader and I'll send the frequency to your Teletran One."

"Prime!" WheelJack said in his communicator.

Optimus Prime's voice along with the sounds of combat and explosion came from WheelJack's communicator, "Not now, WheelJack! We're kinda busy."

"Useless piece of crap!" said Winhurst as she slammed the terminal desk with her hands, "The tracking signal has been cut off!"

Something dawned on WheelJack as he looked down onto the doctor and asked, "Why was FireHawk able to take on the Dinobots so easily?"

Dr. Winhurst silently turned off the terminal and grabbed her cane as she stood up. Then as she was walking off she said, "That information is confidential."

As Winhurst walked off, WheelJack mumbled, "And here I thought we were all close friends."

An hour or so later, WheelJack found himself patching up the Dinobots and SkyFire as fast as he could so that they could leave. And boy did he want to leave as soon as possible…he no longer felt safe here among the humans.

**(Under the Southern Ocean)**

Starscream, with melted wings and an arm was bent at a painful looking angle, groaned. Alive but unable to move, he was being carried by a strong current along the sea floor. He was cursing SkyFire, cursing Megatron, cursing all of existence for his pain. All he could do was to float and wait out the pain. Just when it seemed almost like he would forever suffer, the most beautiful sound he ever heard filled the waters around him; a wordless melody that drove away the pain, both physical and mental. With a soft touch, a pair of hands gently turned his head so that he could see a sea green face with innocent amber eyes.

**The End…**

Next Time on Flight of the StormLark…

(With a wordless melody in the background)

"That should fix you up, my good friend, "said Ratchet as he put away his tools.

"Thank you so much, "said Starscream as he twirled on one toe like a ballerina, "I feel so much better."


	14. SeaDove's Song

**Note: Sorry for the delay, but wanted to at least put some work on the next few chapters to make sure that the stories line up. If you're a fan of Starscream, I would apologize but he's just so easy to have fun with. (BTW what is up with all the stuff I had in bold being uploaded with no spaces? So if all the bold stuff looks weird or something...you know why.)  
**

**Insert standard disclaimer about not owning Transformers and no money was made doing this. Also, if there is a company call Southern Star Technologies this has nothing to do with them. I Just made the name up.  
**

**Chapter 14: ****SeaDove's Song**

Starscream woke up in a barely lit room to the sound of dripping water. As he laid there on the ground, dull pain filled his entire form and his energy levels were dangerously low. His internal repair systems must have been working overtime to drain him so much. As he sat up, he noticed that someone had attempted to straighten his arm. Seeing that his null ray was no longer attached, he briefly panicked but then the noticed weapons on the ground not far from him. He took hold of one and attempted to re-attach it, but his arm was too badly damaged. Looking around the dimly lit room, he noticed that he appeared to be in a badly damaged hanger with the added feature of a water entrance. The hanger doors were blocked by boulders and broken concrete that when he looked up that he could see the raw stone proving the room was inside a mountain or perhaps even underground. He also noted the small, colorful lights lining the ceiling that seem to be the only source of light.

He carefully stood up to explore the room further and apparently triggered a motion sensor because the main lights came to life. The sudden brightness briefly overloaded his optic sensors forcing him to darken them and attempt to cover them with his damage hand. Once his eyes grew use to the light, Starscream explored his surroundings. The first thing that took his real notice was the wall harness similar to the ones used by those cursed she-bots that have been the bane of his existence. On the wall , next to the harness was a large cabinet of some sort. The next thing he noticed was the security cameras that were located in each corner, but appeared to be offline.

Already growing tired, he walked over to the nearest wall and, with his back to it, slid down to sit on the ground facing the pool of water. Since the doors were completely blocked, that seemed to be the only remaining entrance. Even as helpless as he currently was, he be damned if he let whoever brought him here sneak up on him. As he waited, he tried to think of some way to return to the base or at least find out where here was so that...no matter how much it galled him…to call for help.

A splashing sound brought his full attention back to the pool as a sea-green she-bot pulled herself out of the water. She seemed to be of the same basic design as Nightbird and the others, but thinner and sleeker. She seemed to be designed to move more easily in water.

Tilting her head to the side, she noticed that her guest was awake. Dripping, she walked over and knelt down next to the Decepticon. She tilted her head again and made to touch the damaged arm. Instinctively, Starscream pulled away and moved to push her away with his one good arm. Her amber eyes seemed to briefly frown, but then she seemed to understand that he was still in pain as her eyes took on a look of understanding and empathy. She then began to sing a wordless, calming lullaby. Starscream's pain and aggression faded as her song filled the room, calming him to the point of going into sleep mode.

**(Close ****to ****the**** Western**** Australian**** Coastline,**** Southern**** Star**** Technologies ****Testing ****Facility)**

"There you go, Prime, as good as new, "said Ratchet as he made a few last adjustments to the side of Optimus Prime's neck.

"Thank you, Ratchet, "said Prime, "How are the others."

"Almost all are banged up to some extent, "he said with a serious tone as he put away his laser tool, "Sparkplug is going around now to see which one's need to be worked on now and who can make it back to base for repairs."

A man and a woman wearing lab coats over khaki outfits walked over to the two Autobots. Making the introductions, the man said with a noticeable Australian accent, "Thanks for helping us out there mate. I'm Doctor Evan Stevens and this is my lovely wife and partner, Doctor Terri Stevens."

"Pleasure to meet you both, "said Prime, "Since the fighting seems to be over, would you mind telling us why the Deceptions attacked?"

The couple glanced at each other and it was Terri Stevens that answered with a more American accent, "We thought you knew…Didn't Mr. Drake inform you of the SeaDove?"

"And cue the sinking feeling, "said Ratchet.

"We knew the SeaDove was located here in Western Australia but were told her components were in storage at a facility just outside of Perth, "answered Prime.

"That was the plan…but that changed once we were able to get some data from both the British and American companies, "said Terri.

Evans then added, "The gal was the same as completed a little under a month ago, but we need to fine tune her AI. We were working on that when the Decepticons first started blasting us the other day. We were able to thankfully hold em off long enough for you guys to show up."

"So that's why they fought so hard and long, "mumbled Prime who then more clearly asked, "Is the SeaDove secure?"

"We're not exactly sure yet, "said Terri, "The above ground entrance to her hanger was blocked and destroyed in the first wave of the attack. We are waiting to ensure everyone is safe and that the attacks are truly over before attempting to reach her via the underwater entrance.

"I just hope she didn't go wondering off on her own with no one there keeping an eye on her, "grumbled Evans.

"Wondering off on her own…"said Ratchet, "She's activated? I thought you said you were still working on her AI?"

"Weeeellllll, we thought we were done,"said Terri rubbing the back of her neck, as if embarrassed, "But the she didn't turn out as we expected."

A guard came up and whispered something into Evan's ear. With a frustrated look, Evans said, "Sorry, but it seems that the local authorities are here asking questions which only one of us can answer. "

"We understand, "said Prime, but obviously wanting some answers.

"Go on, "said Terri to her husband, "You're better dealing with the locals than I am and I can explain what makes SeaDove…special."

Evans placed a kiss on his wife's cheek and said, "You're the best, Love" before walking off with the guard.

"About SeaDove, "Terri started as she walked over to a large piece of broken concrete and sat down on it, "we acquired a copy the Stormlark's AI and make some adjustments to it. We had hoped that despite not being a completely original personality the modifications would make enough of a difference that it wouldn't matter."

It was now Prime's and Ratchet's turn to glance at each other as if sharing a secret. It was Ratchet who had to ask, "That didn't work did it?"

"Yes and no, "said Terri shrugged, "She thinks for herself and there is intelligence of a sort, but…she is like a child that was raised in isolation with little or no human contact, but without the fear of strangers. We know she can think for herself and is aware of others as well as her environment by how she acts, but it's almost as if she has absolutely no experience. This would be understandable since she was basically born when she was activated, except that the Stormlark did not have the same problems. We have no idea how the Magess girl was able to program in so much experience and we don't know how we could have lost that sort of information with the minimum changes that were made. She seems to be acquiring the needed life experience at a rapid pace. Growing up or maturing, from an infant mentality to that of a four or five year old in less than a month but has yet to speak a single word."

"So you basically have a full sized robot, with the mind of a challenged child, "said Ratchet remembering Nightbird's imprisonment, "that might be all alone in a dark, dank cave."

"That 'cave' is her home. It is safest and most comforting place for her, "said Terri defensively, "She has enough energy for days even if her charging harness is damaged or is not getting power. The room designed specifically for her so she can't easily damage herself. Most likely she's in there playing with her toys and perhaps humming one of her melodies to pass the time."

"Humming?" asked Prime.

"Being the marine member of the team, SeaDove was designed to handle underwater depths that would challenge most submarines and has a unique sonar system to navigate the darker waters. What makes the sonar special is that it can be adjusted by her into ranges not normally used by submarines. She's somehow figured out how to use it to sing strange melodies. We haven't bother stopping her since doesn't seem to hurt anything and in fact can be very calming when someone is stressed, "Terri laughed and added, "So calming that she has lulled more than one tech to sleep while they should have been working. Or at least that's what they claim."

**(An ****hour**** or ****so ****later,****at**** the**** nearby ****beach)**

"Did I ever tell you how much I hate salt water?" grumbled Huffer, "Let's not forget about the sand. The damn stuff just gets into everything! It'll be weeks before I get it out of my gears and with the salt water, I'm sure to rust…"

Ratchet just smiled and gave a little hum and occasional nod to indicate he was listening. He knew that the more that Huffer complained, the less hurt he was. "That ought to do ya, "said Ratchet giving one last tap to Huffer's shoulder.

"Thanks Ratchet, "said Huffer not sounding very thankful, "Guess I should go check with Prime to see if any other worthless job I need to do. Dunno why we're helping these people, nothing good will come from it." The mini-semi truck transformed and then rolled off as Ratchet put away his tools.

Unnoticed a sea-green robot watched from behind a large outcropping of rocks. She tilted her head as if to think and then nodded. She walked around the outcropping towards Ratchet. Standing right behind him and with her arms behind her back she waited until…

Ratchet turned and yelled "Ahhhhh!" tossing what looked to be a wrench into air as he attempted to regain his balance. "By the Matrix! Where the blazes did you come from?"

SeaDove shrugged as if to say 'I dunno,' and then took hold of one of Ratchet's hands and tried to lead him towards the water. "Hold on there, Missy, "said Ratchet as he refused to be led, "The Stevens are no doubt looking for you by now."

SeaDove stomped her foot in the sand and tried pulling the Autobot once more, but Ratchet said firmly, "No, we need to get you back…"

SeaDove threw her hands up in frustration, but as they came down she titled her head and her eyes flashed briefly.

"Now come on, "said Ratchet in soothing voice as he tried to lead her towards the compound, but then froze as SeaDove began to sing. Ratchet's eyes dimmed some as the she-bot now easily led him to the water.

**(Hour**** later, ****back**** at ****Southern**** Star)**

"Hey Prime, "said Sparkplug as he walked over to the Autobot leader, "Have you seen Ratchet? I've been looking all over for him."

Prime frowned as he answered, "Not since he left with you to patch up the others."

"Strange, "shrugged Sparkplug, "Everyone else is either heading back to HQ or patched up enough to wait her to see what you plan to do. Blaster is the last guy needing repairs beyond what I can give and shouldn't be moved without Ratchet taking a look."

After overhearing the conversation, Huffer walked up and said, "Last I saw him was about an hour ago when he finished patching me up. Must have been taken or something. Knew coming here was a bad idea."

"Let's not assume the worse, Huffer, "said Prime as he brought out his helmet communicator, "Ratchet, do you hear me?...Ratchet, come in."

"Told ya, "said Huffer as he crossed his arms.

Ignoring Huffer's comment, Prime said into his communicator, "All Autobots in this area, I need you to look for Ratchet. He's not responding, so be careful. Prime out."

"I'll to speak with Steven's crew and see if anyone there might know anything, "Sparkplug volunteered and then walked off.

**(SeaDove****'****s**** Hanger)**

Back in the hanger, SeaDove sat on the floor with her legs to one side and sang as Ratchet worked to repair Starscream.

"That should fix you up, my good friend, "said Ratchet as he put away his tools. Starscream stood up and started to twirl on one toe like a ballerina. "Thank you so much," he said as he twirled, "I feel so much better."

Overjoyed, SeaDove stopped singing and jumped up clapping.

Ratchet and Starscream stopped where they were standing and shook their heads. Then at the same time said, "What the hell am I doing? " When they saw each other, they both said, "You!" Then they each reached for their weapons only to find that they were not armed. Starscream dove to reach for his null ray only to be tackled by Ratchet.

SeaDove backed away from the fight as if surprised or unsure of the violence. While everyone in the room was distracted a small sub rose up from the pool. A net gun rose from its deck and locked into place with a loud clack. SeaDove turned just as the canon fired its net that landed on fighting Ratchet and Starscream. When the net touched the ground it sparked and then both robots started to scream in pain.

SeaDove ran over to help them, but has she touched the net she only ended up getting shocked hard enough to be knocked to the ground. With a serious look on her face, she got up and walked over to the large cabinet on the wall. Ripping it open she pulled out, cylinder that fit comfortably in her hand. She twisted the cylinder as she turned and it expanded in much the same way as Stormlark's old battle staff did, but it split into three sections on one end and the final appearance was that of a trident like shape where the prongs ran at straight angels from the center one rather than curving.

In the sub, the leader of the three man crew cussed and then ordered them to reload the net canon and this time to aim for the SeaDove who apparently was actually trying to help the aliens.

As the canons clicking noises could be heard over the screams, SeaDove was able to use her trident to pull the netting off. As Ratchet and Starscream recovered from the extreme pain, the female robot began to sing again. This time she did not sing a calming or soothing melody, but a more aggressive sounding war song. Both males went still for a moment as their faces went blank and their eyes flickered before going brighter than normal. They then picked up their respective weapons.

The net canon fired again, but Starscream fired destroying the net before it could get anywhere near the group. Ratchet sent a warning shot over the sub letting the ones on board know he was more than able to reach and sink them.

"Commander "said one of the crew "Is the SeaDove controlling them?"

"Make sure this is all being recorded, "the commander ordered.

"But, Sir, if the Autobots find out…"

The sub shook and alarms started ringing when second blast hit the water next to them.

**(Southern****Star, ****Dr.**** E.**** Steven****'****s**** Office)**

In his office, Evans placed the phone in its cradle and rubbed his forehead. He wife brought up the big questions, "What should we do?"

"Blasted idiots!, "he growled, "If they just reported what SeaDove was doing, but no they had to go and try to capture test subjects."

Terri shook her head, "What were Winhurst's people doing there anyways?"

"Brits..."snorted Evans,"Some of em just can't seem to get that Britain no longer rules a worldwide empire. In any case, we can't let the Autobots know what's going on…at least not yet."

"I'll stall the Autobots, "Terri said with a serious tone, "And you go see if you can talk SeaDove down. She's always listened to you."

**(About ****30 ****minutes ****later,**** SeaDove****'****s****Hanger)**

Standing up from the hatch of a small yellow sub, Evans called out, "Dove, don't be like this."

Said robot pointedly looked away from the scientist as she continued to softly sing her calming melody. SeaDove, Starscream and Ratchet were sitting on the ground in a circle with what looked to be a tea set in the middle. Starscream was pouring imaginary tea into a cup and handed it to Ratchet who accepted with a smile.

"At least let them decide for themselves if they want to play" Evans continued trying.

SeaDove looked down briefly and then shook her head negatively just before accepting her own cup of 'tea.' Taking a sip she nodded once toward Starscream as if saying how good it tasted.

Evans pinched the bridge of his nose and muttered, "I can't believe I am seeing this." He then made to step fully out of the sub but when he did, SeaDove's song changed. The very noticeable sound of weapons powering up filled the air and when Evens slowly turned his head to look he saw Ratchet and Starscream aiming their weapons directly towards the sub. "Okay, bad idea, "he said as he returned to the sub's hatch.

The song returned to its calming almost playful tune and Ratchet could be heard saying, "Mr. Scream, could you be so kind as to pass…"

Evans climbed into sub and closed the hatch. The helmsman asked, "Should we get the Autobots?"

"And what?" said Evans, "Have them join the tea party?"

**The ****End****…**

**Next**** Time**** on ****Flight**** of**** the**** Stormlark****…****.**

The hologram message cube melted into Stormlark's hand and then the mercury-like material reformed into a purple statuette of Rachael Magess. The purple robot's eyes dimmed as she allowed the statuette to melt away as well, but this time the material was absorbed into her skin.


End file.
